


Summer child

by darkrogue1 (Lily_Haydee_Lohdisse)



Category: Kyou Kara Maou!
Genre: M/M, MaPreg, Mpreg, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-24
Updated: 2007-09-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 17:21:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7692985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily_Haydee_Lohdisse/pseuds/darkrogue1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shinou needs a powerful pawn for his future plans (don’t ask me!), and he needs the child NOW. He sends Yuuri back to the past where he has arranged a convenient time and place for the young Maou to conceive, even if he has to be raped for it… (no actual rape in the story: I can’t stand those... but I like an angsty and over-protective Conrad and so: recurrent misunderstanding back in the present…)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The last hill

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Yaoi, smut and MaPREG for Mazoku Pregnancy in general, and Maou Pregnancy in particular ^^  
> (And MPREG is Canon: cf Wolfram saying he’s training ‘for later’ in episode 43.)  
> Episode 52 spoilers (Yuuri meet Julia episode)
> 
> Pairings: exclusively Conyuu (and some Yuurad hinted)… there might be some side pairings like Murata x Ulrike… but nothing definite.
> 
> Rating: R to NC-17 for graphic sex scenes. It all started with imagining PWP scenes… except I can’t write without a plot: so there is plotting but not much and nothing too complicated.  
> Chapter 1 : R for mention of a rape which won’t/didn’t happen. (not PG-13 because knowing what this will lead to, I wouldn’t want my younger sister to start reading…)
> 
>  
> 
> Author’s notes: Inspired by ayu_00’s "bring forth the past". I had this idea as I read the first chapter. So there might be similarities in the situations, especially in the first part, but the story is different. The specific ideas I took from ayu_00 are :  
> \- Yuuri is sent back to the past ^^  
> \- Murata says Yuuri might be hungry upon his return  
> \- Yuuri enters a barn and find Conrad and a woman in a ‘compromising position’, the woman flees. Conrad suggests Yuuri takes her place.
> 
> Beta-read by slytherisa.Thank you !

There had been an official visit in Franceshire, as Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Fuuri had met with His August Majesty Antoine to sign another treaty to further the bonds between their two countries. Shortly before his departure, the Maou had expressed his wish to visit some of the Mazoku’s towns on his way back, only to find out that there weren’t any suitable civilian clothes in his trunk: there were only official black uniforms. Thankfully, the ever-resourceful Laila had found suitable clothes to offer to the demon king, and so Yuuri was able to do some tourism in his own country.  
  
Upon his return home, the incoming group was greeted by the king’s daughter Greta. She came running towards him as he dismounted, carrying an earth-filled pot, out of which stood weirdly shaped branches of flowers. Yuuri had been teaching her the basics of ikebana, but the result seemed… unexpected.  
  
"Yuuri! Look what I did!" However, when the young king took the bowl in his hands to better see the arrangement,  said recipient began to glow.  
  
"Wait! Is this…?" was all the wide eyed Yuuri had time to utter before his brown eyes went glassy, and he fainted in a bright flash of light.  
  
"Yuuri!"  
  
\-------------  
  
When he came to, Yuuri was standing on top of a hill in a place he didn’t know. It was evening. He looked down at his hands, which were slowly losing their green transparency to become real and tangible… so that meant…  
  
"It’s back to the past with me… or is it the future this time?" the youth asked himself.  
  
He looked around. There were green fields on one side, mountains and cliffs on the other, and just down the slope, a small village on a dusty road. On the closest side of the village, there was what seemed to be an inn or a horse relay, except its courtyard was filled with white tents; there were a lot of people and fires were being lit.  
  
Well… he might as well go sightseeing. And so, having nothing better to do, Yuuri started down towards the inn.  
  
\--------------  
  
  
Wolfram, Conrad and Gunter had run to the aid of their king when he fell, but none was fast enough; he was laying in the dirt when they reached him. After they had assessed that the Maou had, indeed, been sent on a trip through time again and was in stable condition, they took him to a bed inside, in the very same room he had rested in the first time he had been sent to the past. As Conrad had carried the king there followed by the group, Wolfram had taken Greta’s hand and reassured her that this was not her fault, and that in one way or another, all travels through time or the space between worlds required Shinou’s intervention. If it hadn’t been her, the old king would surely have found some other way to send the Maou … where- and whenever he was now.  
  
Shortly after Gwendal, Conrad, Wolfram, Greta and Gunter had all gathered around the bed, Murata Ken came in, arriving from the temple where he had supposedly spent the last week reading.  
  
"Geika!" he was greeted upon his entrance. They obviously all wanted to know when their king would come back, and if he knew why he had been sent away, but they were too respectful – or maybe too fearful – of his status to ask. Murata smirked.  
  
"Well, everyone… What’s with those faces? He’ll be back." He turned to Greta with a smile. "However, I think it might be a good idea if you went to the kitchens to ask for a good meal to be served when he wakes up; he certainly will be hungry."  
  
As Gunter argued that it was not a princess’s place to be sent to the kitchen, it was strongly suggested that he accompanied her out, at least to find a servant that could carry out the task.  
  
And after the door had closed behind the two of them, Murata’s smile disappeared from his face, and a sense of imminent doom fell upon the three sons of Cheri.  
  
  
\--------------  
  
  
Meanwhile, Yuuri had arrived near the nearest main building, which really was an inn: ‘The King’s Arms.’ But Yuuri did not go near it. The courtyard in front of it was packed with soldiers – well, he supposed they were soldiers: they wore armour and swords, but he saw no uniforms. Some of them were posted on guard around the field, and just as he had been about to ask one of them where he was and why they were there, the guard that had been shooing smaller children away threw him a mean look(1).  Understanding he was not welcome, Yuuri had gone further down the road to the village.   
  
He had made quite some progress with Shin Makoku’s writing, as it wouldn’t really do for a father to have his daughter read him a good night story… The first time had been humiliating enough. That’s why he lifted his head to read the wooden board on the side of the road. It read the name of the village.  
  
Yuuri’s face blanched as if he had seen a ghost. Then his legs gave way, literally.  
  
Sitting on the road, an eighteen-year-old Yuuri was staring blankly at the battered sign which read:  
  
"Ruthenberg"  
  
\--------------  
  
  
 "He WHAT!?" Murata’s declaration had been met with unanimous horror. The three brothers looked at him as if he had grown an extra head.  
  
"Yes. I’m none too happy with Shinou’s decision either." Murata looked at the king who laid supine on the bed. "Shinou wants Shibuya to conceive a powerful child, which is why he sent him to meet with the father in the past."  
  
"So you are telling me Yuuri is going to cheat on me?" Wolfram’s voice sounded dangerous.  
  
Murata met his stare with an equally cold and serious one. "If not, he’s going to be raped."  
  
The three brothers exclaimed at once, protesting, pleading, threatening...  
  
If Murata managed to hear any of their questions, he didn’t answer them and went on.  
  
"Shinou claims that he set the scene so that even if he wanted to, Shibuya wouldn’t be able to refuse."  
  
"And I can’t imagine his majesty cheating on anyone," said Conrad sombrely.  
  
Murata nodded.  
  
"Is there any way to call him back before that?" Gwendal asked, his voice tense.  
  
"There is none." And the great sage turned towards the bed again. "It’s all in Shinou’s hands."  
  
  
\-------------  
  
  
Yuuri had managed to recover enough to stand again before anyone noticed him sitting in the dirt in the middle of the road. He discretely removed the pendant around his neck to put it in an inner pocket of his vest, just in case he met Conrad – both because he still had a tendency to trip a lot, and because Conrad had never given any sign that he had met Yuuri in the past: Murata had warned him enough about paradoxes. But Yuuri was curious, and he at least wanted to get a glimpse of Conrad’s younger version again.  
  
Walking through  the main street, he could see that the older villagers looked somewhat grim and worried. When he asked around, he was told that Shimaron’s army had been spotted four days’ walk away from there, on the other side of the mountain: they would probably cross the valley the day after tomorrow. The small, unequipped army at the inn was the half-blood’s army. They were on their way to stop them at the cost of their lives.  
  
The small village was at a direct threat from the enemy, and so it had gratefully welcomed its defending warriors. They were furnishing food and wine for the tonight’s feast, for tonight the soldiers would enjoy themselves. Tomorrow they would march, and the day after that…  
  
Yuuri didn’t need to listen to the villagers to know the battle’s results.  
  
It was getting dark. Yuuri went back towards the inn, in search of a place to stay the night. There had been a barn at the back: if Ruthenberg’s army was partying tonight, the barn might be free for him to sleep in. Then tomorrow he could try and find Conrad.  
  
Yuuri went around  the inn to the back door of the barn; by the time he reached it, night had fallen. Being on the courtyard’s opposite side, the light of the campfire didn’t reach him like the sounds of laughing and partying – the only light was the one coming down from the stars. There was no moon tonight.  
  
He pulled the door open, and it squeaked in protest. The barn held piles of hay on both sides. On one of the wooden blocks holding pieces of framework together, next to a blue vest, an oil lamp had been set. Its flame vacillated with the breeze coming from the outside. In the dim light of the lamp there was a blanket, and on it…   
  
Yuuri embarrassedly noticed there had been people inside.  Actually it was a couple… in a very compromising position. Before he even could start to apologise and head back out of the barn, the woman who had screamed upon his entrance disengaged herself from the man’s arms. She fled towards the other door and ran outside, letting it slam back shut with a heavy thud.  
  
"I-I-I’m deeply sorry." Yuuri stammered and blushed. He bowed in reflex as he apologised to the man who had stood up and was now nearing him.  
  
"Well, come in and close the door," the man said. Yuuri froze upon hearing this voice that called to his soul. He raised his head, and indeed it was Conrad. He wore blue pants and a half-opened white shirt, and his face was very much recognisable. He just had longer, untamed hair… and he wasn’t smiling. Even though he had been prepared to meet him ever since he saw the name of the village, he really hadn’t expected it to be so soon, and in this context. Wait!…Had Conrad really be making out with that girl…?  
  
Looking at the man’s mouth, Yuuri swallowed. He wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t frowning either. Yuuri looked up a bit – there was no faint scar on Conrad’s right eyebrow. Then he met Conrad’s eyes directly, and he gasped under the intensity of the other man’s stare. Those eyes were… mesmerising. They were commanding, but gentle; they were sad and tired, but amused; they were brown, intense and curious. In a sense they felt dangerous. No, Conrad wasn’t dangerous. It must be because of his hair, Yuuri assured himself. It gave him a wild look. That was what he saw reflected in those eyes, he thought.  Then Conrad smiled. It was a smile of victory, one that spoke of mischief – one he often had whenever he had an idea to surprise Yuuri with. Yuuri smiled in response; he loved to see Conrad smile.  
  
As he didn’t obey fast enough though, Conrad came toward him and pushed the door closed. Yuuri looked at him above his shoulder as Conrad locked the door. Still smiling, he then turned towards Yuuri and drew close to his body. Lifting his chin with a hand, Conrad said:  
  
"If you’re that sorry, then you’ll keep me company instead."  
  
The wild look in his eyes was back. The lamp, whose flame had been flickering until then went out. Yuuri’s eyes went wide and his mouth formed a bemused O. Was Conrad implying what he thought he was implying? The scent of him wafting from his open white shirt and the feeling of Conrad’s breath on his skin very much told him so, but hypnotised and entranced him all the same.  
  
As the boy offered no resistance, Conrad circled his arms around him and pulled him close. He seemed in dire need of body contact, as if lost and wanting reassurance, as if desperate. Conrad’s lips suddenly came tingling down on Yuuri’s neck. Yuuri could feel Conrad’s breath on his collarbone and the man whispered huskily in his ear: "You smell nice."  
  
Yuuri very much doubted it was because of Cheri’s shampoo this time around. He still didn’t know how to react: this was Conrad! A younger version of Conrad, true enough, a very daring and undertaking one at that. Conrad’s breath on his skin sent shivers to his spine. They had just met and had not even exchanged names and already…  
  
Now the man was half carrying him, half tumbling him down to the place where the blanket rested on the hay. It felt wrong, somehow, hurried and sinful, and yet… Everywhere Cheri’s son was touching him, Yuuri felt delightful sensations, felt Conrad. Abandoning himself to the feeling of Conrad’s wandering hands on his body, Yuuri hugged Conrad back and let all conscious thought go.  
  
  
  
\-----------  
  
(1) He had been in this post for quite a while, was tired, and just had been pestered by kids… too bad, Yuuri, at some other time he would have been a really nice guy to have a conversation with.  
  
  
  
\-----------  
  
END  of  chapter 1.  
  
  
  
  
Next Chapter :  
  
" My name is Weller-kyo Conrart. I have dedicated my life to service his Majesty.  
Oh ? It was ‘to serve’ ? " *seductive smile* " Sorry, my bad. "  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - -


	2. His name is Conrart

He felt very hot and sweaty. Yuuri was lying on the blanket and moaned as he felt Conrad’s callused hands caress his naked chest. Gya! When had he taken his shirt off? He couldn’t remember. When Conrad had started trailing kisses on his face and along his jaw, Yuuri had felt in heaven. If only Conrad would do the same in the present, why…What?!  
  
"Ahhh!" he exclaimed. The other man interrupted his discovery of the youth‘s body and raised his head interrogatively. "It’s cold!"   
  
"What is?"   
  
Yuuri looked down at what felt like ice in comparison to Conrad’s hands on his chest. In their world which was all shadows, he could still see a faint glimmer on his skin just under Conrad’s neck. The other man followed his gaze.  
  
"Oh!"  Conrad’s voice was serious. "Sorry. The pendant."  He took the small stone in his hand. Yuuri could actually feel his hesitation, and, knowing Conrad had already seen Julia for the last time, he sat up to give him a hug.  That seemed to decide Conrad. He carefully removed the pendant from his neck and laid it down on his discarded shirt.  
  
"Now where were we?"  He asked, turning his attention back to Yuuri. And Yuuri didn’t answer as Conrad had started to shower his skin with kisses again. This was heaven, he thought distractedly as he felt himself react to the kisses; he should come to the past more often. And he traced this younger Conrad’s muscles with his hands, rediscovering by touch what he knew would be there later by sight, minus the scars, just enjoying the contact.  
  
Meanwhile Conrad had worked his way through the fastings of Yuuri’s pants and had also removed the black thong. Yuuri was grateful it was so dark, because the colour would have been a dead giveaway; and he was now sure Conrad shouldn’t recognize him, because the Conrad he knew just wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face looking at him if he remembered this and…  
  
"Aaahh, wait!" Conrad’s wandering hand had come to a stop on his erection.  "Wait! What.…. Whoa…aaaa?" Yuuri moaned and arched his back as Conrad’s hand gripped him lightly and started stroking him some. Conrad chuckled.  
  
"Who I am? What to call me?" His hand had stilled. That wasn’t quite what Yuuri had wanted to say, but if Conrad told him his name, then he wouldn‘t have to worry about saying it anymore. And Conrad went on. "I thought at least someone would have told you that. My name is Weller-kyo Conrart. And I’m leading those men in this suicide mission." And then he started stroking Yuuri again, somewhat amused by the whimpers and gasps that came from the youth’s mouth, as he withered under his touch and tried to pronounce the name.  
  
"Con-ra…..aaaaaaaaaa…….t."   
  
Yuuri was surprised at his own sound. He had meant to voice Conrad’s name as usual, but when Conrad had flicked his thumb over the tip of his erection… so THAT was how Conrad’s name was supposed to sound. Yuuri loved it already, and now he knew the name correctly, he was going to use it!  
  
"So, and what about you?" Conrad whispered seductively in his ear, leaning against him again.  
  
Yuuri’s panic would have been visible in his eyes if there had been only a little more light. His name! He couldn’t tell Conrad his name, because Conrad didn’t KNOW, wouldn’t know. That ruled out all the other names he usually made up when in disguise, for Conrad knew them all and had never given any indication of reminiscence either, so who was he? In a Shibuya second, all of his names flashed before his eyes: he was Shibuya Yuuri, Harajuku Fuuri, 27th Maou of Shinmakoku, but that didn’t help, because he couldn’t very well tell Conrad to call him his Majesty, could he? His August Majesty… that was it!  
  
"August."  He gasped. "Sammers August."   
  
And as Conrad repeated his name, Yuuri felt somewhat relieved. Thank Conrad for telling him it was a name!  
  
\-------------  
  
They had be on the boat back to Shinmakoku, and Yuuri had asked Gunter the meaning of the Franceshire king: His August Majesty. And after Gunter had described the history behind it at quite some length, Conrad had softly added that in Franceshire, it also was a name. He had sounded somewhat sad and Yuuri had asked why.  
  
"It’s just strange how a  good memory can also bring bad ones."  Conrad had smiled, and Yuuri, feeling he was intruding, had dropped the subject.   
  
\-------------  
  
So if he was the person Conrad had been thinking about, he would make sure Conrad had only good memories of him. The only bad ones of that time should be of the war. Conrad already had too many bad memories.   
  
And then his thoughts let go of the past and future, as Conrad was stroking him again; and Yuuri could only think about Conrad and shame and pleasure and nothing else anymore.  
  
He gasped and panted and grasped at Conrad’s skin. He could feel Conrad’s weight on him, as the man pressed unto him, keeping contact, as if it might be the last living touch he would feel.  
  
Yuuri could feel Conrad’s erected cock on his leg, the hand that was slowly working him slid down past his testicles to halt at his anus.  
  
"Wh… ah!"   
  
Conrad had pressed his finger into him. It felt strange, feeling something move down there. Conrad’s first knuckle moved around and then progressed in. Yuuri grunted and moved his hips, trying to get more comfortable, it was… as if he discovered new parts of him, new patches of skin he had never thought he had before.   
  
"Conrart!" He whimpered.  
  
There was a strange kissing like sound as Conrad removed his finger. But the feeling persisted inside. Then he felt stretched further, as Conrad inserted two fingers in him this time. He moved them around and separated them a bit to carefully prepare the youth as they had no lubricant at hand.  
  
"How does it feel?"  he murmured in his skin.   
  
Yuuri shuddered in reaction to this voice. It felt strange, and it was men’s love, but knowing it was Conrad made him feel much better.  
  
Then Conrad pushed further and a finger pressed on the side where Yuuri’s prostate was. A shot of pleasure went straight to Yuuri’s erection, a white light flashed before his eyes and he came fast, mouth open and surprised.  
  
\----------  
  
They had watched the quiet laying Maou for some time, perplexed. What could they do? None of them had the power to travel through time, none of them had the power to bring Yuuri back or to go accompany him. A cold meal had been brought that would be ready whenever the king awoke. The three brothers had eyed the food with equal distaste. Just thinking about what might be happening to Yuuri right now made their stomachs heave. The night had come, and Greta had gone to bed. When Gunter had learned the news, he had fainted and been brought away by the soldiers guarding the door, one of whom was by chance again Darcassos.    
  
Wolfram, with his hands on the table, was currently containing his anger while Gwendal paced in front of the windows. Conrad looked at both of them with a pained face, and Murata had thought best to let himself be forgotten in a corner of the room.  
  
Suddenly Conrad turned his head towards the bed and stood up.   
  
"What is it, Weller-kyo?" Murata asked, and he came back towards the centre of the room.  
  
"I thought there had been a movement." Conrad watched the prone figure intently. The others in the room looked in the same direction.  
  
"You must have dreamt it."  Gwendal stated gruffly.   
  
Murata neared the bed with a serious frown on his face, carefully examining the king’s features, then his position. His eyed narrowed.  
  
"Weller-kyo was right." He stated. He looked around at the brothers. The three of them had tense faces and clenched fists. "It has begun."  
  
  
\-----------  
  
  
When Yuuri somewhat regained his senses, Conrad was removing wet fingers from him. He had used Yuuri’s cum to moisten him somewhat.   
  
Then he poised himself in front of Yuuri’s entrance, and pressed forward. Yuuri whimpered in pain.  
  
"Relax." Conrad shushed him. "Just relax." And as Yuuri did his best to obey him, trying to ignore the feeling of invasion, Conrad thrust forward and finished sheathing himself in Yuuri’s body.   
  
Yuuri cried out in pain, tears welling from his eyes, then whispered a strangled "Conra- "  
  
"Relax, August. Just relax."   
  
Conrad caressed him, soothing him and keeping his need to thrust in check for a while, only pressing his hips forward on occasion, letting the youth adjust to the new sensation. But as soon as he felt the tension recede, Conrad started thrusting again.   
  
By now Yuuri had completely abandoned himself in Conrad’s arms, he had let himself become completely passive and just let Conrad pound into him, stroking him again to bring him some pleasure, but the discomfort was too great and Yuuri could only feel his body being jerked back. Tears now flowed freely from his eyes; it was Conrad, but it hurt.   
  
  
\-----------  
  
  
This time they all saw Yuuri’s body’s convulsion. He looked in pain as his body began having spasms. Conrad, being the nearest of the brothers, extended an arm toward his majesty, only to be stopped by Murata.   
  
"Don’t!"   
  
Murata interposed himself between the king and the rest of the room, arms extended.  
  
"Don’t: it works both ways."   
  
And as the three brothers looked uncomprehendingly at him, he added: "What do you think Shibuya’s reaction would be if he felt other hands on him at the same time?"   
   
Wolfram made a puking face and fled the room.  
  
Gwendal frowned and looked at the two other men. Conrad’s nails dug in the palm of his hands, his whole body tense and taut; he remained at the foot of the bed, unmoving, and kept his eyes on Yuuri.   
  
"What are you doing?" Gwendal asked.  
  
"I will watch until His Majesty wakes, remember his pain, and then make sure the one who hurt him will suffer that much and more before being allowed to die. I swore to protect him, this is the least I should do." Conrad answered with a pained and angry voice, never taking his eyes off Yuuri’s grimacing face.    
  
"What if he’s already dead?" Gwendal argued.  
  
"Then I’ll watch."  Conrad’s tone was deadpan. "As it seems I can’t do anything else."   
  
  
\----------  
  
  
Conrad kissed the tears from Yuuri’s eyes. He had come and slipped out of Yuuri, but when he had brought a hand to his cheek, he had felt the extent of the silent tears Yuuri had shed. Worried, he had checked the youth for injuries, and found none, for which he was grateful.  
  
"August."  He whispered. "I’m sorry."   
  
"It’s all right." Yuuri said, clutching his arms around Conrad. And he added the name tentatively: "Conrart."   
  
"I hurt you." Conrad sounded worried, and Yuuri thought about good and bad memories, and Conrad. "It was your first time." Conrad’s voice was laced with marvelling disbelief.  
  
Yuuri blushed in the darkness. First time with a man, first time ever: he must have been bright red. But this was Conrad, and he loved Conrad, and it had felt good for the first part, and if Conrad had enjoyed it then it was worth it, this discomfort. Besides, Conrad’s effort might not have been sufficient to let him come too, but he was half-hard again.  
  
"Don’t worry." He said. "I enjoyed it somewhat." And trying not to think too much about what he was doing, he led Conrad’s hand to his beginning of an erection, while at the same time he put his head up and kissed Conrad’s neck.   
  
"Why here? Why me?" Conrad asked.  
  
Eh? Oh… Oh, no… why would he have given his first time away to a stranger? Conrad was no stranger, and he loved him, and Conrad had felt good and natural, but he couldn’t tell him that because Conrad didn’t know…   
  
"It must have been fate." He replied, and to prevent Conrad to ask more difficult questions, he pulled his mouth to him and let the other man kiss him.   
  
Conrad was a hell of a good kisser, and Yuuri was getting harder again.  
  
When Conrad let him go to put soft kisses along his jaw, Yuuri whispered Conrart’s name, and when the man’s leg brushed his erection, he whimpered. Then he noticed Conrad was hard too, more than himself even... that was strange, because he didn’t think Conrad would fantasize about a stranger that much… and he couldn’t have a fetish about anything he had said, could he?  
  
"You…" Yuuri searched for words, caressing Conrad’s body and kissing every inch of skin he could reach, while Conrad very much did the same. "You’re hard again." He swallowed and his blush passed unnoticed in the darkness.  
  
"Blame it on Yosak." Conrad grunted in between kisses.  
  
"Yosak?" What did Yosak have to do with this? Yuuri didn’t understand.  
  
"Red hair… blue eyes… you haven’t met him?" Something in the question hinted he should have.  
  
"Hmm. Yosak… but what has he to do with this?"  
  
And, as his hands kept wandering on Yuuri’s skin, he explained.  
  
"He’s got revenge coming sometime. Mother gave him a lust inducer of some kind and he put it in the soup."   
  
Cheri, lust inducer… "Oh!" Yuuri said, too distracted by Conrad’s hand to think further.  
  
"He told the others so that only those who wanted it would take it… didn’t warn me. Bastard."  
  
"Oh!"  Yuuri understood better.  
  
But Conrad seemed to be in the mood to explain further: "He thought I needed an incentive to bed the girl. Damned meddler."  
  
The girl… Conrad had been with a girl just before…she had fled for Yuuri’s entrance.  
  
"Was it…?" Not knowing how to finish the sentence he had started, Yuuri paused in the middle of it.  
  
"Yes, the young innkeeper."   
  
"Oh." Yuuri didn’t want to elaborate, and busied himself with pleasuring Conrad again.  
  
"Do you want some of the soup?" Conrad asked. "I left it by the pillar."   
  
Yuuri blushed, and from the feel of it, he really didn’t need any incentive while with Conrad. "Maybe later." He answered.   
  
Then there wasn’t much talk as they resumed their activities.


	3. In the King's Arms

The more he spent time in Conrad’s arms, the more Yuuri felt at ease. He didn’t feel self-conscious about his skinny waist or any part of his body anymore: if Conrad liked him this way, why should he feel embarrassed? Besides there wasn’t much light, and though you could see shapes and features -- from close up for the latter -- the darkness enveloped them both in a snug cocoon. The part of Yuuri’s mind still conscious enough to be functional used this time to explore Conrad’s reactions in turn, learning from what Conrad’s hands, lips, and tongue were doing to him and reciprocating in kind, memorizing what Conrad seemed to like the most… Except this was more about feeling the other man’s ministrations.  
  
It seemed to Yuuri as if Conrad was the master of this art, and every single touch from him brought Yuuri new delightful sensations; he begged for more through his new-found vocabulary word, shivering as he conjugated Conrart’s name.  
  
"You are so responsive, August," Conrad murmured in his ear. Then, his right hand tracing a trail back down to go circle Yuuri’s entrance, Conrad breathed again: "May I?"     
  
It seemed to Yuuri that if Conrad went on like this, he would come by his hands and voice alone. "Conrart."   
  
Conrad nuzzled Yuuri’s neck. "Does that mean yes?"  
  
And Yuuri moaned into his touch. Who was he really, to deny this to Conrad? Why would he want to refuse him this? Why did Conrad even need to ask? "Yes," he breathed out.   
  
Conrart’s hands went up on Yuuri’s hips, then behind his back, and Yuuri found himself clutched in a tight hug. His own erection pressed against Conrart’s stomach while he felt Conrart’s arousal hot between his legs, the soft hairs tickling the sensitive skin there.  
  
Conrart sighed, a held-up and tense sigh, and he attached his mouth to Yuuri’s neck, kissing him fiercely there while his hands passed over Yuuri’s whole body once more. Yuuri could feel need oozing from Conrart, as if he had to know that Yuuri really was there, as if he could not believe someone was with him tonight and agreeing to give him anything he wanted. Conrart’s body felt good and hot and Yuuri wanted to reassure him; Conrart was pinning him down with his weight and his hands were trying to find Yuuri’s to twine them together, so Yuuri arched up to press against Conrart, answering his unspoken plea for contact.  
  
A few more kisses down Yuuri’s neck and shoulder; then Conrart pushed himself up, raised Yuuri’s leg and guiding himself slowly, entered him once more.  
  
\----------  
  
There was a movement from the bed again. Gwendal and Murata turned back toward the young king whose silent seizures had started anew. Conrad had not turned his eyes away from the Maou even for a second, even during the time he had remained still, and his eyes where both red and damp.  
  
"How long… how long will it last?" he asked in a croaked and half-broken voice.    
  
He had been expecting -- hoping -- that the next move on the bed would be Yuuri waking, that he would not have to keep being an impotent witness to Yuuri’s pain.   
  
Yuuri’s face was strained again, grimacing and mouth open as he twitched on the bed.   
  
"A while," Murata answered. "Probably until Shinou is sure Shibuya is with child. A first time is not always sufficient."  
  
Conrad was tense and resented the Great Sage’s calmness.  Gwendal was feeling uneasy. The more he stayed, the more he felt like a voyeur.  There was nothing he could do to help his king while staying. He fiddled with his fingers and his eyebrow twitched.   
  
"You don’t need me here," he stated before he left. "Good night."  
  
He closed the door precipitately behind him, so that the rustling of the sheets on the bed did not carry down the hall. The sound still resounded in his ears, it was so loud the whole world must have heard it. He knew it was impossible for the noise to be that strong, but it still left quite an impression on him. Gwendal decided to go check on Gunther. Then he would try to get some rest.   
  
As he walked through the corridors, he reflected that the king’s trip through time might last for a very long while. He was grateful that the Great Sage would be staying with his younger brother, as he had assured him with a look and a nod before he had exited the room. Conrad…  reacted badly. Who would not ?   
  
He himself had trouble stomaching the fact that Shinou would condone a rape. But he could not put it past  the true king.  How long would the youth’s ordeal last ?  
  
Male mazoku had a natural receptor for semen on the wall of their rectum, but if Yuuri was not in a receptive mode right now, it would take hours for the hormones to lead to the production of cells to create a child.  
  
Would Shinou know when such a cell would be generated? Or would he wait to return the Maou to them until his body’s transformation had begun, days later?  
  
Gwendal himself had never witnessed a male mazoku carrying a child, but he knew that in theory, during the months of the pregnancy, a secondary canal formed to permit the child to exit the father’s temporary womb… in theory. Giving birth was still difficult and most of them required a surgical intervention.  Such children were rare, and always girls. Boys never were viable. Would the Maou face that danger as well? Surely Shinou would not be so cruel…  
  
Then something struck Gwendal as strange. The Maou had a human mother. If Shinou’s plan was true and actually succeeded, Yuuri Shibuya might become the first male half-mazoku ever to carry a child.  
  
\----------  
  
It was different from the first time. Yuuri had no time to tense and the thought of fear came too late to really matter. It felt good. Conrart slid easier inside Yuuri, and it was not nearly as painful. It was… intense. He gasped and arched against Conrart, instinctively pushing back to meet his thrusts.  He could feel the friction of their skin inside him, a heated burn where he was stretched around Conrart’s length.  
  
Conrart leaned forward, grasping Yuuri in his arms, sloppily kissing open-mouthed, his lips, his chin, his neck and up again. Yuuri’s renewed erection slid on his stomach as he moved with short quick thrusts.   
  
Yuuri could smell the mixed odour of his and Conrad’s sweat, feel the soft scratching of the blanket’s wool under him, and hear the crunching of hay under them, a counterpoint to Conrad’s skin softly slapping against him with each thrust. He could hear their mixed sighs and moans, and from the feel of his fingers and the shadowed shape above him, he could imagine Conrad’s face.  
  
But the most wonderful feeling was the one of Conrart gliding inside him and above him at the same time. It was soon too much for Yuuri and he came between them both, calling Conrart’s name in a strangled gasp. Conrart stopped for a second, whimpering and holding Yuuri before he started thrusting again, straining for his own completion.  
  
A few intense thrusts later, Yuuri felt him come in spurts inside him. Then Conrart slumped down and Yuuri could feel his relaxing weight on him for a few moments; soon though, Conrart slowly lifted himself and turned to the side to avoid crushing him.  
  
Yuuri whimpered at the burn and loss when Conrad slipped out of him.   
  
"Did I hurt you?" Conrad sounded as breathless as Yuuri was, and yet he found the time to worry about him. Yuuri smiled. This really was Conrad.   
  
"No… I just… liked it, you know? You inside, I mean." They had ended up to the side of the blanket and Yuuri noticed his head was in the straw, making his neck itch. Lazily he moved back towards the middle of the blanket, his right arm resting across Conrad’s chest to gently play with the sparse short hairs.  
  
He felt tired… physically anyway. His body was sated and relaxed, but his mind was excited with the night’s novelties and he would not sleep. So he let himself drift, basking in his body’s feelings and Conrart’s warmth by his side.   
  
"…you from Franceshire?" Conrad asked, and Yuuri remembered the clothes he had been wearing earlier.  
  
"No, but I just came back from there," he stated; his persisting smile could be heard in his voice.  
  
"But your name…" Conrad protested. He was lying back easily, but from his voice Conrad was still fully awake.  
  
Yuuri took a moment to react; what about his name and Franceshire? Yuuri was… oh, August!  
  
"Yes, well… my mother always had this thing for weird foreign names, so…" His usual explanation came up easily.  
  
"Your family lives around here?" Conrad asked.  
  
"No." Yuuri answered immediately. "Well, I mean… since they are not in this world…" Yuuri belatedly realised what he had been about to say and fell silent: Conrad did not know, so he should not tell him!  
  
But Conrad finished for him, giving things a sense from his own perspective. "… Not in this world anymore… Sorry… so you’re traveling alone? It’s dangerous. We are at war."  
  
Yuuri did not answer. Conrad was going to lose so much in this war. All those men would too… their lives… And Conrad was going to be hurt.   
  
"What about you?" Yuuri asked in a pained voice, a lone tear finding its way down his cheek.   
  
Conrad’s breath hitched and he drew Yuuri into his arms, pressing him close to his chest.   
  
"It’s my duty," he murmured, his face hidden in Yuuri’s hair. "We’ll die for our country."  
  
Yuuri grasped Conrad’s face in both his hands and kissed him, briefly but fiercely. "Don’t die, please."   
  
He kissed him again, with passion. Conrad had to live. Conrart should want to live, Conrart was one of this war’s heroes, the kind that survived. Conrart would have to fight for his life.  
  
"You have to live, Conrart, please promise me you’ll live," he pleaded. He needed Conrad back in the present, to name him, to protect him, to love him. "Please come back for me. Stay alive."  
  
Conrart emitted a growl and pushed Yuuri back onto the blanket. He followed the movement and ended up covering Yuuri with his body once more. "How could I promise that?" he groaned in a taut voice. Yuuri could feel Conrad’s pain echoing in the voice through his chest. Conrad was afraid. Conrad was convinced he would die. But Conrad wanted to live.  
  
"Promise you’ll live or die trying," Yuuri proposed seriously, his voice straining to convince the older half-demon. He longed to reassure him, to bring him comfort and courage.   
  
Conrad took a deep breath and hid his face in Yuuri’s chest, his mouth resting on the lower base of his sternum. "I will," he choked. "I will." Then he propped himself up on his arms and slid up to kiss Yuuri on the mouth, hard and strong, his breath catching in Yuuri’s mouth at odd intervals, as if he were sobbing. But when Yuuri held Conrad’s head between his hands, he could not feel any tears beneath his thumbs.  
  
"August…" he whimpered, his forehead resting on Yuuri’s for a second. Then, he started licking Yuuri’s skin, starting at the corner of his eyes, of his mouth, his ears… He traced his way downwards and licked Yuuri’s left nipple.   
  
Yuuri moaned under this new contact and wriggled under Conrad’s body. It felt good. He had come twice tonight already and his cock felt sensitive under Conrart’s hands. But it did not prevent him from growing hard again, on the contrary.   
  
Something seemed to have been unleashed in Conrad; he was wild and now devouring Yuuri’s body with kisses. Then he turned him over and pulled him up, so that Yuuri was resting on his arms and knees, and Conrad’s chest  touched Yuuri’s back.  
  
Conrart’s left arm was passed under Yuuri and held him tightly, an he groaned, his mouth just skimming over Yuuri’s skin, making goose bumps appear on his back. He did not say anything, he just pressed and slid against Yuuri, his hand wandering to tease Yuuri’s nipples.  Yuuri moaned below him and arched up, letting himself go and following the sensations and Conrad’s lead.   
  
Then Conrart entered him again.   
  
This time their coupling was fiercer. Yuuri pushed back against Conrart’s thrusts, feeling him inside of him, stretching him, filling him deeper than before. Conrart’s long hair tingled behind his neck as he bit his shoulder. Yuuri found himself aching from the pleasurable sensations. He was so hard, but it was too much, and he could not believe he could come anymore.   
  
Time stretched and it seemed to take forever before Conrart lost his rhythm. They moaned and mewled with each move, before Conrart finally thrust to come inside Yuuri. He roared and Yuuri felt himself tighten around him in response; his cock twitched and he joined him with a shattering orgasm.  
  
They collapsed back on the cover and did not move, overwhelmed.   
  
Sometime later, feeling that Conrart was tensing and getting ready to lift himself up, Yuuri stopped him. He wanted to keep the feeling of Conrart inside him, of them joined to form only one body.   
  
"Don’t move…" Then he chuckled at a weird thought that crossed his mind, how Conrad had behaved, how he really deserved his name, the Ruthenberg Lion... Except he was all Yuuri’s. He echoed that thought before falling asleep in the other man’s warming embrace. "…My lion."   
  
  
\----------  
  
  
When Yuuri woke again in the small hours of the morning, he was on his side and Conrad held him in his arms from behind. Slowly and sleepily he turned to press his head against Conrad’s chest. He let it rest there, his ear above Conrad’s heart, listening to the steady beat.    
  
Yuuri stayed like this for a while, snuggled against Conrad --Conrart-- reminiscing about the events of the night, calling back to what he felt, savouring every moment again so that he would never forget them. Yuuri’s cock hardened again somewhat at the thoughts and he moved slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position.    
  
Conrart sighed, and Yuuri kissed his chest softly to reassure him. Conrart needed his rest.   
  
But Conrart’s eyes opened and his hand went up to gently caress Yuuri’s hair.  
  
"August…" he murmured.  
  
Yuuri responded by kissing him all over. Light, tender kisses to express how Conrart was precious to him; how he was cherished. Conrart let him, gently accompanying him with his hands, the tip of his fingers. It was slow and unhurried, just Yuuri sliding over Conrart, worshiping his body with his hands and lips.   
  
"Conrart…"  he sighed. Conrart was wonderful.  
  
"Thank you."  Conrart sounded amused and Yuuri realised he had spoken aloud.  
  
"But you are too,"  he added. "I even might forgive Yosak."   
  
Yuuri smiled against his skin. "If you ever exact revenge on him I want to see,"  he commented.  
   
"I promise I won’t do anything until you are there to witness it."  Yuuri could hear Conrart’s smile in his voice.  
  
Slowly and tenderly he kept kissing Conrart’s body, trying to convey him how he adored him.  
  
Gently they made love again.   
  
\----------  
  
It was the fourth time, and Conrad had worried his hands so much that the palms were bleeding. When, oh when would Yuuri wake up from this nightmare?  
  
He felt trapped, unable to do anything for Yuuri. The Great Sage’s eyes felt like two burns on him.   
  
"It has changed. Did you notice?"  Murata said.  
  
But Conrart was too innerved to indulge him with small talk. The Sage’s remarks through the night had irked him to no end.   
  
He was right though, Yuuri’s movements and expressions had varied with time… but he would remember it all and at least share the burden with his king.  
  
Murata Ken sighed. Sir Weller was too involved to keep an open mind anymore… too bad he could not recognise that Yuuri seemed more in control this time…  
  
They kept watching until Yuuri rested once again, still on the sheets.  
  
\----------  
  
  
Conrart woke up at twilight, long before the sun was due to come up. August was snuggled against his side, one leg over Conrart’s hip. Outside the men were waking up. Soon they would break camp.   
  
Conrart sat up and carefully slid away from August, then got up to collect his discarded clothing. He first picked up his necklace, and, watching the slumbering pale silhouette on the covers, put it around his neck. Then he dawned his uniform.   
  
He went to get his blue vest back, slid it on, and came back to look at August, standing in front of the blanket. In the pale light of morning, he took in the boy’s sleeping features; then he bent to tuck his brown reddish hair behind his ear, gently caressed his cheek and went, closing the barn’s front door behind him. He turned and faced the courtyard -- the tents were being disassembled.   
  
Conrad took a breath and went to see to his horse, never looking back.  
  
  
\----------  
  
  
When Yuuri woke up, Conrad was gone and he was alone. He was nude on the wool blanket, and light filtered through the window. The sun was up.  
  
He sat up as he heard voices outside. He was naked! And anybody could walk in at any moment. Yuuri stood up, intent on gathering his clothes. He felt something weird and wet trickle down his legs from his ass. He wiped at it with his fingers, which left them sticky. Gross.   
  
Gingerly he wiped his hand on his underwear, then he wiped his skin before he dressed. Then he headed outside. As he walked, he could feel some more of that liquid seeping out. He really needed a bath.  
  
There was a well in the courtyard, a round stone wall with a trough nearby, on which the bucket had been set. Just as he was nearing it, he heard a door open behind him and turned. A woman was standing in the doorframe, holding a broom.  
  
It was the woman who had been with Conrad before he arrived. ‘The innkeeper,’ Conrad had said. She threw him a black look and suddenly Yuuri felt as if he did not belong here, as if he were intruding on her property. He couldn’t use the well with her there.  
  
He walked away from her and towards the village, as fast as he comfortably could with his sticky pants. He watched the remnants of the night’s party as he went searching for another water source, starting off in the direction that Conrad and the half-demon’s army had gone.  
  
He mused as he walked. Why was he here? Why did Shinou send him to the past? And if it was to… comfort Conrad -- he blushed -- …then why was he still here?  
  
On the side of the road, an old man was arranging his plough-horse’s harness. He turned a curious face towards Yuuri and the young man stopped to ask him for directions.   
  
The old man told him of a water pool near a waterfall at the end of the village, and he went. Guided by the soft sound of running water he advanced between the trees and happened upon the pool. Everything was still and peaceful, the only sound coming from the far end on the left, the waterfall. The only thing that was missing was the regular drop of bamboo on a stone. Yuuri neared the edge of the fall. It was not that high, only about three meters to a lower and smaller pool, but the current was strong.  
  
Slowly he undressed and bathed in the cold water. He did not stay in the water very long before he redressed, feeling refreshed and somewhat cleaner.   
  
Then, just as he was putting on his vest, he heard someone move and the snapping of twigs and dry leaves behind him, and a dry laugh resounded.   
  
"Look at what we have here!"  
  
Yuuri turned. Two men were cornering him against the water’s edge. They wore partial Shimaron uniforms, the unobvious parts. Deserters.   
  
"My, my, if it isn’t our lucky day. Don’t bother to dress up again, baby."  
  
Yuuri backed up slowly, afraid. This wasn’t good, not good at all. He did not like the leery looks of the men. His voice was less assured than usual but still attempting to be cheerful as he tried to reason with them.  
  
"Listen guys, this must be a misunderstanding…"  
  
And the other men laughed. "No misunderstanding, sweetie. We’ll have fun together…"  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuri saw a movement as the first man moved to grab him. He ducked into the water and the man only grabbed his headwear. Scrambling on legs and hands, Yuuri ran away from them and further in the cold water, his subconscious screaming at him to put as much distance as he could between himself and the two men.  
  
He ran and they chased him, the water splashing around them; but in his efforts to dodge them, Yuuri soon found himself trapped, clutching a big stone with his back to the fall, struggling against the current and trembling with cold and fear.  
  
Then one of them grabbed him and he let go of the stone, instinctively taking a step backwards, and into empty space. Yuuri screamed as he felt himself fall but then a shock shot through his arm and his fall stopped.  
  
One of the men was holding him, and the other held his comrade. He could not really hear what they were saying over the noise of the water. They began to pull him up when suddenly something gave and he heard loud swearing. The man holding him had lost his footing and now they were all falling, taken by the current.   
  
Yuuri’s breath was knocked out of him when his back hit the water, and the two men fell over him, the current pushing them all down to the bottom.   
  
The water around them was taking on a green colour. Yuuri struggled to swim away and back up to the surface but the current was too strong, and kept dragging him down. He was running out of air.  
  
Why now? He thought. Just when he had lived the best night of his life.  
  
‘I know I said I didn’t want to die a virgin…’ He pleaded to any divinity who might listen, to Shinou. ‘…but don’t let me die like this, please!’  
  
And when he couldn’t hold his breath anymore, Yuuri inhaled, both through his nose and mouth.


	4. Bad Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Side story to Summer Child: Conrad’s pov about the end of the war, what Yuuri could not have known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta-read by slytherisa
> 
> Partly inspired by Wilfred Owen’s The Send Off  
> A few, a few, too few for drums and yells  
> May creep back, silent, to still village wells  
> Up half-know roads.

  
"I told you already, captain. I never saw him. How would I know his last name or address?"  
  
Slouched over his horse’s back, Conrad was remembering Yosak’s exasperated tone from one of the numerous occasions he had tried to get his lieutenant to tell him more about August. He had been surprised that his friend did not remember the boy, as he had been so sure that it was Yosak who had let him into the camp that night.  
  
The last few weeks had been hell. A different kind of hell than the battlefield, but still. Julia was dead, they were all dead. He had been stuck in bed for days, unable to escape the memories of the battle ---death, blood --- forced to confront the news of Suzanna Julia’s death.   
  
He had survived… and in his bed in the castle, he had forgotten why. It was Yosak who had reminded him: "Don’t die, after I took the pain to drag you back here." Conrad knew Yosak well enough to know that it was the red-haired half-demon’s way of telling him that he would miss him if he died. "Don’t die."  
  
Another voice echoed the words in his memory. "Don’t die, please." A pleading voice with a blurry, indistinct face in shadows, reddish brown hair. "You have to live, Conrart, please promise me you’ll live." August had said that. "Please come back for me. Stay alive."  
  
Conrad had clung to those words. Not during the battle, no. He had not brought Julia nor August there, that was not the right place for them. Maybe it had been duty that had sustained him… but on a subconscious level he had wanted to live, and maybe it was thanks to them. Conrad had clung to the words afterwards, staring at the canopy of his bed during the forced inactivity due to his injuries.   
  
"I stayed alive…" he murmured in the wind, then he started his horse once more in the right direction.  
  
He had written a letter to distract himself from the pain – the mental one, at least. A letter to August, telling him he had survived, that he would come back for him. Now that Julia was gone, he reported his hope to the boy who had accepted him. Maybe August would accept something more, perhaps he would even agree to come back with him…  
  
But Conrad had not sent that letter. Yosak did not know where to have it sent.  
  
Conrad had been angry with his lieutenant at first, exasperated – nothing really new. Then he had found a new resolve; as soon as he was fit enough, he had left the castle on horseback, still bandaged up. He would go to August himself.  
  
Now Conrad was on his way, and with only a few leagues more to go, the road was going uphill already. Everything was silent; last time there had been echoing hooves and footsteps behind him. The scenery seemed alien, different from his memory. Too peaceful, maybe.   
  
He arrived in Ruthenberg one or two hours after noon.  He immediately started to ask around.   
  
But no one knew an August.  
  
His description of the boy did not help much either. Perhaps some women remembered a young man in foreign clothes on the day they were here, but they did not know who he was or where he went. Oh, and thank you for protecting us by the way…   
  
Conrad nodded absentmindedly. What did they know of what happened in that valley? But this did not help him find August. Most of the men were in the fields, should he wait for their return? He lifted his eyes to the inn up the hill. Maybe he would have to ask the innkeeper after all, though he was loathe to do so. She was the type of person to think he had come back for her… he really came back for August.  
  
An old man went by on a laden cart and looked at him curiously, and stopped.  
  
"May I ‘elp ya? Ya seem lost."  
  
And Conrad described August once again. The old man’s look changed and his face expressed pity.   
  
"I saw ‘im," he said. "That day." He made a small sign with his head, shook it sadly. "Get on. S’on my way."  
  
Conrad gave him a puzzled look and then carefully – his ribs and arm were still sore – climbed on next to the driver. A clacking of the tongue and they were off, towards the end of the village form which Conrad had come.   
  
"I saw ‘im in the morning," the old man began. "Walkin’ strange." He threw a side look at Conrad.   
  
Conrad’s face stayed neutral, but he mentally blushed.   
  
"‘e was looking for a quiet place to wash up, I think," the man went on. "I showed ‘im to the stream." He stopped and looked lost in thought. Conrad felt something was off.  
  
"I was plowin’ nearby… saw two strange men walk by in that direction. Shimaron’s uniform. Went back to sound the alarm."  
  
Conrad’s chest felt tight.   
  
"We found one body down the waterfall, clutchin’ the boy’s hat." The old man paused again; the only sound was the rhythmic tapping of the horse’s hooves.   
  
"The other resurfaced two days ago. Wouldn’t surprise me if the boy’s still at the bottom… wouldn’t be the first time either… you know, lost sheep…"  
  
Conrad did not answer, he could not think of anything to say. August was…dead.   
  
The cart stopped.   
  
"Here ya go." The old man pointed toward the trees. "Straigh’ ahead ya’ll find the stream. Don’t fall in."  
  
Conrad slowly climbed down from his seat. He did not remember it, but he must have thanked the man before getting off. He walked straight ahead, and sure enough there it was – a stream, and a waterfall. Everything was still, the stillness of death. The dark atmosphere of gloom under the trees chased Conrad away. August died here.  
  
August was dead. Like Julia, like his friends.   
  
Conrad walked back to his horse in a state of shock. He did not remember the trip back to Shinmakoku’s capital and castle either. His face was blank, his heart devastated, hope gone.


	5. The trouble with paradoxes is...

…and instantly opened his eyes in surprise; he was breathing normally. Starting to flail his arms and legs again, Yuuri found out he was lying on a hard surface… and sat up on the bed.   
  
"Yuuri!"  
  
"Your Majesty!"   
  
The voices sounded both relieved and worried.  
  
Looking around,  Yuuri saw he was surrounded by Murata, Gunther, Gwendal, Conrad and Wolfram. Yuuri turned his face away. He had, he had… He couldn’t look any of them in the face. Wolfram, he had not once thought about Wolfram. Yuuri’s hand came up to hide his face and he moaned in embarrassed distress.  
  
"Yuuri!" A worried Wolfram had bent over the bed, intent on grasping Yuuri’s arm, but as soon as he neared it, Yuuri wrenched it away, flinching guiltily.   
  
"I’m sorry," he said.  
  
There was an intake of breath and a move of recoil. The tension in the room became almost too heavy to bear. In the back of the crowd, a murderous look passed over Conrad’s face, but Yuuri was too busy feeling guilty about not remembering Wolfram to notice.   
  
"I’m sorry," he repeated.  
  
"So it’s true," Wolfram stated, his voice at the same time sad, angry and wounded. But his anger did not seem to be directly aimed at Yuuri, and Yuuri wondered what he was talking about.  
  
"We know." Gwendal stated, and Yuuri looked at him in surprise.   
  
Yuuri blanched, and he stole a glance at a pale and tense Conrad. Then, as he considered the implications of their knowledge, blood flowed up and his whole face reddened. He emitted strangled sounds.   
  
"Wh… err… but… what!?" They… how? How could they know? Had Conrad really recognised him or something?  
  
Wolfram was still standing right in front of him, looking at him with sad and wounded  green eyes, his posture tense and uneasy, his face pale.  
  
"I’m sorry."  
  
Gunther choose that moment to burst into tears. "Your Majestyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!"   
  
Yuuri tried in vain to evade Gunter’s embrace. He did not feel like being strangled again just after a near-suffocation experience, but he was still sitting on the bed and it was nearly impossible for him to escape his mentor. When he moved, however, he grimaced in pain; he felt stiff all over and sore.  
  
It was Wolfram who rescued him from a babbling Gunther by prying him off Yuuri. "How noble of you…"  he was saying," … so sad…" and, "…we know it’s not your fault…"   
  
"Eh?"  Yuuri was surprised, and so confused. What on Earth did they believe to know? It was his fault : he had been the one to… -- he repressed his blush -- … sleep with Conrart.  
  
But this time it was not Conrad who came to his rescue, the one to guess his mind and explain – Gwendal did. Maybe it was just because he could not bear this insanity any longer, who knows...  
  
"We know,"  he said. "And it’s not your fault, that Shinou wanted you to be with child..."   
  
"…Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?"  
  
"…and that he had you raped." This part went unnoticed by Yuuri’s mind at first, he was too busy trying to process what he thought he had heard Gwendal say. With child? Impossible! No… he was still a man, wasn’t he? Then his mind finally registered the end of the sentence and he felt an incommensurable anger boil within him.   
  
Yuuri stood up abruptly.  
  
"I wasn’t!"  he said forcefully. "I wasn’t raped!" He protested, outraged. Around him, he saw pitying and doubtful faces, only Murata stayed neutral, and Wolfram…  
  
"I’m sorry,"  he breathed softly this time, his throat strangled and hurting. And the worst part was that Wolfram understood, believed him. He knew it from looking into Wolfram’s green eyes. Wolfram believed him, all right; Wolfram knew Yuuri had been intimate with another man, Wolfram knew Yuuri had been willing.   
  
Wolfram emitted a choked sound, and Yuuri had time to see the tears well up before he turned and fled away from the room. Yuuri had never felt worse in his life. He had betrayed Wolfram, cheated on him.  
  
There was silence in the room then. They had all been hushed by the king’s shouting; now it seemed as though they were waiting for him to say something, and if he didn’t they couldn’t say or do anything. Yuuri hoped like hell there was not any kind of protocol involved. What could he say, now that he had so terribly wounded Wolfram?   
  
He looked at Conrad. His face was blank, neutral, but his posture was tense and his eyes were hard and waiting. He had not recognized him, had he? He did not know. Was he… jealous? Over… over him sleeping with some guy and getting knocked up and…  
  
Yuuri froze. "What did you just say?" he asked.  
  
"You are with child,"  Murata repeated, guessing what he meant. And then he smirked at Yuuri’s wide-eyed, unbelieving face. "Shinou had you travel through time to conceive a powerful child, so if you’re back, it means you are pregnant."   
  
Murata’s voice kept ringing in his ears. With child. However unbelievable that might be. But Murata seemed very sure of himself. _With child._ Because Shinou wanted it. He had been sent to the past because of that. A child – Conrad’s child. Inside him. Conrad’s…  
  
Yuuri’s right hand went to rest on his stomach. "Am I?" he marvelled aloud.   
  
Then his common sense took over again. There was a limit to jokes; there was also a physical impossibility.  
  
"You must be kidding! I’m a guy!!"    
  
Gwendal frowned as he listened distractedly to Murata explaining the workings of a mazoku’s reproductive system for the benefit of his friend; his king was not being aggressive. He knew he would be if he learned he was with his rapist’s child… Maybe His Majesty really had been willing…   
  
Yuuri could not believe his ears. Everything was getting stranger and stranger; maybe it was a dream and he would wake any second now, and Wolfram would not be angry with him because he would not have spent a whole night making love with Conrad in the past, and he would not being listening to Murata telling him he was now pregnant… with Conrad’s child. Maybe he did not want to wake up after all…  
  
"His child…"   
  
"You could always have an abortion."  
  
Yuuri froze. It couldn’t be; his ears must have heard wrong. His mind must be mistaking the speaker… because Conrart wouldn’t suggest something like that. It must have been someone else… but he did not even want to consider any one of them in particular telling him something like that.   
  
"Don’t be silly…"  
  
Thankfully Murata answered for him, because Yuuri couldn’t, couldn’t have. And thankfully Murata did not say a name. Thank God!  
  
"… in that case Shinou would just find a way to send him back."  
  
Yuuri blushed for a moment. He wanted that again with Conrart. He really would not mind meeting him like that again, but he had Conrart right here in the present and did not need to be sent in the past for it… and if the condition was to be….  
  
Never. Yuuri felt anger flow through him. He felt his hairs stand on end as he envisaged the death of Conrad’s child. What had been suggested was unfair, and Justice was what boiled in Yuuri’s blood.  
  
"I’ll only say this once," he began in a menacing voice. "I won’t let an innocent child come to harm, all the more if it’s mine. I certainly won’t kill it." He raised his voice slightly. "I won’t let anyone murder it either; you’ll have to go through me f…"  
  
"Shibuya! Stop! You’ll hurt the child!" Murata’s voice stopped Yuuri mid-diatribe; his hair settled back on his head and the blue glow around him slowly disappeared.  
  
"What?" Yuuri asked, puzzled.  
  
"You can’t use maryoku, it may endanger your child," Murata continued matter-of-factly.  
  
"Oh." Yuuri paused. "How?"  
  
"It could kill it, maim it, brain it, fry it… to sum it up, an unknown hazard."   
  
"Oh." Yuuri shuddered. It strangely seemed worse than any known danger when Murata spoke like this.  
  
"Yuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!"  
  
Greta ran through the room and jumped into her foster father’s arms.  
  
"Umpf." Yuuri caught her and by some miracle managed to stay on his feet.   
  
"Yuuri, are you all right?" she asked. "Wolfram said you were awake, but he didn’t seem happy."  
  
Yuuri’s heart constricted; he feared his adopted daughter’s reaction. He loved her as if she was his own, but what would she think of him after what he did? Yuuri carefully knelt on the floor, cupping Greta’s cheek… and hoped to hell he wasn’t unknowingly blundering into another mazoku tradition by doing so.   
  
"I’m all right, Greta," he said, looking directly into the girl’s big and worried eyes. "But I did something awful to Wolfram." His throat felt tight and his voice wavered slightly. Greta just kept looking at him, regal and waiting.  
  
"I cheated on him…" Yuuri choked out in a whisper. "I’m with someone else’s child."  
  
Greta’s eyes went even wider in surprise. She made a faint move to recoil, but she saw the hurt on Yuuri’s face and put a hand on his shoulder. "But… but you’ll still be my daddy, right?" she said forcefully.  
  
"Of course." Something in Yuuri’s chest relaxed. "Whatever comes between Wolfram and I, you’ll always be our beloved daughter."   
  
Greta seemed reassured. Her face seemed to say: ‘I’m glad, but why is Wolfram so sad today when he is always angry that Yuuri is cheating on him?’ If the situation had not been so messed up, Yuuri would have laughed aloud.  
  
"So, does it mean I get a little brother?" Greta piped up in the silent room.  
  
Yuuri was shocked speechless again.  
  
Murata laughed quietly before explaining that in all the history of Shinmakoku, male mazoku always had carried girls, and that maybe it was so that a balance in population could be found, but the young girl would not be swayed. "But Yuuri is not full mazoku. It could be a baby boy!"  
  
Then Yuuri’s stomach growled in hunger and Murata urged him to eat his cold lunch. Greta exited the room, dancing, her merry voice echoing in the corridors to tell all who would listen that she was going to have a little brother.  
  
The people remaining in the room looked at each other. Gwendal sighed and spoke up.  
  
"This is likely to become a matter of state," he began. "Who is the father, Your Majesty?" He carefully asked.  
  
Yuuri choked on his white bread and turned red.   
  
"I… I…" He looked up at Conrad, his face pleading for a rescue, but Conrad’s face was not happy. Conrad was not smiling at Yuuri, or jesting to divert Gwendal’s question. His face scared Yuuri then, somewhat, a reminder of a time in Childkraut when he would have left Geigen Huber to die.  
  
Yuuri’s face lost its colour when Conrad spoke, his voice carefully guarded.   
  
"Who did this to you, Your Majesty?"  
  
"Conrart, I…" Yuuri started, but as he heard this, Conrad’s face closed even more, as if the use of his real first name were a reprimand. **You can call me Conrad. Some of my friends call me that.** Conrad’s voice echoed in Yuuri’s head.  
  
"Conrad, I…" he corrected, starting again.  
  
Yuuri’s correction sealed Conrad’s smile even further away and his voice chilled Yuuri when he spoke. It was colder than the northernmost state of the USA.  
  
"I swore to avenge you, Your Majesty. Please tell us so that I may fulfil my duty to you."  
  
"I…" Yuuri’s voice was strangled, but his time Wolfram was not there to push reason in his brother. Yuuri took courage in remembering Wolfram’s, swallowed, and raised his voice.  
  
"You don’t have to avenge anything, Conrad. I wasn’t raped!"  
  
But Conrad wasn’t mellowed. "I saw it," he boomed. "I saw your face, your pain. You were hurt Yuu- Your Majesty!"   
  
Yuuri opened his mouth to protest. "I wasn’t…" but Conrad interrupted him. If there had not been so many life changes for Yuuri lately, he would have been shocked. "You can’t tell me you weren’t hurt, Your Majesty. We saw your pain." Conrad’s hands were clutched into fists again at the memory.  
  
Yuuri had to contradict him, he had to make Conrad understand.   
  
"I… I don’t regret it Conrad… Maybe this child wasn’t conceived with love, but there was care and there was passion. On both sides… I wasn’t raped Conrad, and I don’t regret the pain."  
  
Yuuri looked up at Conrad again and nearly cried when he saw it. Conrad bowed hurriedly and murmured a "’Scuse me," before he left the room, as hurriedly as he could with as much dignity as he could muster.  
  
Yuuri hid his face in his hands; he had messed up. "I wasn’t raped."  
  
Yuuri refused to say anything more, ignoring what the other demons were saying. How could he tell them the name of the father without letting Conrad know first? He had to go find Conrad later and convince him somehow, because he was sure of one more thing: he could not tell Conrad as he was, not before he believed Yuuri; he might hate himself enough to hurt himself without listening to Yuuri then…


	6. Misunderstandings

Things had settled rather quietly after that. Yuuri was tired from his whole ordeal -- and the lack of sleep -- and Murata had helped him to get away to his room and rest.   
  
Yuuri was still in his foreign travelling civilian clothes -- no one had undressed him after he became unconscious -- so he decided to wash his face and change first. His first look in the mirror had him freaked out for a second; his hair was tousled, his lips were red and bruised and on the side of his neck, a bruise -- a love bite! -- was partly showing from under the collar. Was it what Conrad had been looking at earlier?  
  
Yuuri blushed at his own reflection. He looked… strange, like he felt, like he was… like he had had sex the whole night long… which he had. No wonder they had all acted weird.  
  
Undressing, he found some more love bites, each of them bringing memories of the feeling of Conrart’s mouth on his chest. He had bruised finger marks on his hips where Conrart had held onto him. He found out he had come in his underwear at some point.   
  
He carefully cleaned himself up and changed, and went to lie down on his bed, stretching his sore limbs.  
  
Yuuri did not really sleep. He had too many things to take in, too many changes to accept. He had considered going after Conrad immediately but had not found the bravery to do so. After all, Conrad did not remember him, Conrad did not _know_ , and how could he _tell_ him something like that? ‘Hey, Conrad, it was you I had sex with… you I made love to last night… except it wasn’t last night but some twenty years ago and I wasn’t even born and…’ …Like _that_ would go well.  
  
Yuuri was not very good with words usually -- not when he had to speak about embarrassing things, anyway. But usually Conrad would understand him; words would not be needed, because Conrad knew everything about him… except now Conrad did not know everything, and the thing Yuuri had trouble explaining to him was what he did not know.  
  
Not even one hour later Gisela showed up. Yuuri had never felt more embarrassed in his whole life. At least Gisela believed him when he told her he was not raped… and thank god -- and maryoku -- he did not need to remove _all_ his clothes for her examination -- at least this time. It was still too early to know if he really was carrying a child, but she confirmed that at least it was possible. Then, at Yuuri’s protestations that he really did not want to consult with another healer, she told him she would arrange to see him a few days later to confirm whether or not he was really pregnant.  
  
The first week went by in a blur for Yuuri. Gisela confirmed he was with child, and neither Conrad nor Wolfram would speak to him. Well… Conrad did speak with Yuuri, but each and every time Yuuri tried to convince him, he would refuse to listen and leave hurriedly, even verging on impoliteness sometimes, to ensure he would not disrespect his king in a worse way.  
  
A few more day had passed when Gwendal approached Yuuri with the question of the child’s paternity again. Yuuri had repeatedly refused to tell them anything on the subject, but this time, for the first time, Yuuri and Gwendal were alone when he asked.   
  
Gwendal had brought the Maou some urgent papers to sign in his office, and after he had obtained his signature, he remained in the room. Usually he immediately left, implying that at least he had some important things to do. That day however, he stayed standing where he was, subtly shifting his weight from one foot to another… well, at least it was the feeling one had while watching him. Of course Gwendal was a dignified soldier and commander; he knew how to stay immobile.  
  
Yuuri still felt the older demon’s uneasiness.  
  
"Gwendal?" he asked tiredly. At least Gwendal had not been too hard on him this past week… He mostly was his usual self.   
  
Gwendal looked at him for a second before speaking.  
  
"I worry, Your Majesty, that your child’s father might become a threat to your reign." Direct and to the point, this was Gwendal.  
  
Yuuri stayed silent and pulled a face. Conrad was not a threat to him… but he would not tell anyone before Conrad, and judging from the way the half-demon acted… Yuuri sighed.  
  
Gwendal seemed genuinely worried. Besides, it was part of his duties to protect Yuuri from things like blackmail, for example -- not that Yuuri had ever experienced any personally -- or threats to his family.  
  
Yuuri remembered the time Gwendal had been ready to sacrifice himself when Shimaron was threatening various rulers’ children…  
  
But at the same time, Yuuri could not risk Conrad learning of his paternity by someone other than himself.   
  
"You’ll have to swear to me that you won’t speak of it to anyone ever again, dead or living," he stated.   
  
"Your Majesty, if what you tell me indicates that you could be in any danger…" Gwendal began.  
  
"No, Gwendal," Yuuri interrupted him with a calm and steady voice. "To no one, not under any condition, or I won’t tell you."  
  
Gwendal looked into the young king’s clear, black eyes and knew he had found someone more stubborn than himself. The only way he would get any information was to swear secrecy. He could only hope to plead with the young man to tell the others afterwards if he deemed it necessary.  
  
"All right," he said gruffly. "I swear it. I won’t speak of this ever again unless you give me express permission."  
  
Yuuri nodded gravely. He paused, then he tilted his head a bit higher and swallowed before speaking.   
  
"My child was conceived in Ruthemberg, two days before the battle," he declared.  
  
Gwendal’s eyes widened. Now he understood. He understood too well why the king choose to keep secrecy. Seeing how Conrad had reacted, not even knowing who the father was… he would not have been able to handle that one of his men had done it… and Gwendal even understood why Yuuri might have wanted to give comfort to one of those men… The Maou had been right, and he would help him keep this a secret.  
  
Seeing how Gwendal stayed silent, Yuuri asked seriously, though fearing a positive answer: "Do you want his name as well?" How would Gwendal react knowing it was Conrart? Knowing he would be an uncle…  
  
"No." Gwendal’s frown came back. Then he looked somewhat embarrassed. "I fear it would not mean much to me anyway."   
  
Then Yuuri waited but Gwendal asked no questions. He just looked at his king.   
  
"You were right not to tell us," he finally said, then he retreated back out of the room.  
  
As he went away, Yuuri felt somewhat relieved. At least one less person would be asking him, and he trusted Gwendal to keep his word.   
  
In the next few days he began to think it was a damn good idea after all. Each and every time the subject was brought up in Gwendal’s presence, he would cut the questions off by telling people to let dead men rest in peace.   
  
The first time he said that to Gunther, the demon had been outraged, but Gwendal had defended his oath and soon Yuuri was unburdened by those embarrassing questions.  
  
\----------  
  
Wolfram was an entirely different matter. When Yuuri had gone to bed that first night, Wolfram had not been there. He had not come to rejoin him later in the night either.  
  
Wolfram was still in the castle, all right. Greta regularly alluded to Yuuri about her conversations with her other adoptive father, but still, Yuuri had not seen him. The blond demon was avoiding him altogether. Yuuri could not blame him. With his traveling to the past Yuuri had lost nearly all of his familiar landmarks in the castle -- in the relationships with his retainers. However, on the whole, he willingly admitted that he would have been devastated if he had been placed in Wolfram’s shoes.   
  
It did not make him feel any better. Not only did he feel extremely guilty not to have considered Wolfram’s feeling even once -- not to have remembered him even once -- he also feared what the situation might tell him about himself.  
  
Exactly what kind of a person was he, to cheat on his fiancé, to break someone’s trust? Was that not setting a bad example for his country? Did that mean he was not fit to be a rightful Maou?  
  
All those questions bothered Yuuri a lot, and he was beginning to feel more and more both stressed and depressed.   
  
Usually he would go to Conrad with problems like those… but now… every time Yuuri tried to speak about anything to do with his time-traveling or his child, Conrad fled. And Yuuri was left alone to deal with them.  
  
\----------  
  
A few days later, Yuuri was sitting on a bench outside, trying to think of a way to make Conrart listen to him. Wolfram had been watching him, unnoticed, from behind one of the windows on the first floor, and the -- relatively -- young demon  decided that it was time to face his fiancé. He slowly went down the stairs, still hesitating; he paused in the hall, then walked towards Yuuri.  
  
Yuuri raised his head at the sound of footsteps, and stood up precipitately. They faced each other, looking in each other’s eyes. Yuuri had changed, Wolfram thought; he felt more mature, perhaps more responsible. This time the king knew he had hurt Wolfram deeply. His eyes told Wolfram that he was ready to consider whatever Wolfram asked in reparation, short of risking to harm his child. Wolfram nearly smiled.  
  
"I can’t be comfortable around you anymore," he said instead.  
  
Yuuri flinched, but nodded. He understood why Wolfram would not, and made an effort to keep the eye contact.    
  
"Let’s break up."   
  
"Let’s," Yuuri answered in a choked voice. He did not apologise anymore, Wolfram would not want that.  
  
Wolfram smiled then.   
  
"Good." His smile changed in a mocking smirk. "So, ready to be a father?"   
  
Yuuri’s eyes went wide. "Wolfram!" Was Wolfram forgiving him?  
  
"Remember, it’s not good for your baby if you are all stressed out," Wolfram said with a smile. He walked down the hall, leaving a bewildered Yuuri in his wake.  
  
\----------  
  
Those who had known Conrad Weller before his first trip to Earth were not too shocked by his new appearance. Instead, they would have said he looked more and more like his old self, nearly like he had after the war. Conrad’s face was not ever-smiling anymore; he looked gloomy and frustrated, and dark shadows grew under his eyes.  
  
Conrad did not sleep well. The night Yuuri had spent in the past, he had not shut his eyes for a second, and in the following weeks sleep avoided him. He would slumber for a while and wake up in anguish from terrible nightmares.   
  
Conrad dreamt about Yuuri. That in itself was not anything new. But, aside form the normal dreams about everyday life, there had been dreams Conrad would never tell anyone about.   
  
After the war, Conrad had started to dream about August on occasion. During his recovery, there had been heated dreams, repeat and variations on the only night they had ever spent together. These dreams had been very welcome to chase away the horrors of the fights. But after he had returned to Ruthenberg and learned of August’s death, nightmares had started, not unlike the ones he was experiencing now. In them he saw August dying again and again, calling for him while he did nothing.   
  
Over time, those nightmares had receded and the other dreams had returned. The perfect lover in Conrad’s dreams had become August, a face he knew but did not see in the darkness. Conrad did not remember what August looked like very well; he had only seen him for a very short amount of time…  
  
After Yuuri had come to Shinmakoku, his dreams had changed again, and Conrad’s dream lover had taken a new face, slowly morphing into Yuuri’s. Those secret dreams were his usual ones of Yuuri.  
  
Now those were not the dreams which plagued Conrad’s few hours of sleep. He saw Yuuri, contorted in pain, screaming as a man with no face raped him again and again… and when Conrad wanted to rush to his help, an overgrown snake-like Great Sage with flashy glasses and a smirk would coil around his arms, restraining him and holding him back. Then the screaming Yuuri would turn his head to him, and his face would be calm and just slightly reproving as he said: "No one is raping me, Conrad. Don’t be silly."   
  
Conrad did not understand Yuuri’s reaction. He had _seen_ the young man’s pain, and he _knew_ Yuuri would not have willingly and knowingly cheated on Wolfram. Did Yuuri deny the whole ordeal so that he would not have to accept it? Or -- what Conrad thought more likely -- did Yuuri forgive his aggressor already,  convincing himself that somehow it was not the man’s fault?  
  
Finally Conrad came back to his king, apologising for his unseemly outburst; Yuuri seemed eager to accept the apology.  So Conrad stayed by Yuuri’s side as he usually did… but he was not really "there" anymore. Something stood between them and prevented contact, understanding, partnership.  
  
At moments, everything would seem normal. Conrad and his king would share a smile, a secret knowledge of one of Yosak’s cross dressing antics. But Yuuri would not confide his worries to Conrad anymore, and when either of them tried to begin to speak about Yuuri’s time in the past or child, their tenuous link would break down to nothing.   
  
Conrad missed Yuuri’s partnership too much so he had stopped asking after a while. He could persuade himself that Yuuri’s rapist was dead. It was possible… and Gwendal seemed to be sure of it. Yuuri must have told him. It hurt Conrad to think that Yuuri would tell something to Gwendal that he would keep secret from himself. So Conrad tried to act as he usually did and ignored the problem. However, Yuuri kept bringing it up -- at different times, in different ways, but always with the same undercurrent.  Could he not understand that Conrad could not forgive anyone who hurt Yuuri?  
  
\----------  
  
Gradually, Yuuri stopped trying, too. He hated it when he fought with Conrad. Each and every time the half-demon’s hateful words for -- even if he did not know it -- himself came out they broke Yuuri’s heart. Now he had Wolfram to console him. It was strange how much closer they had grown ever since their engagement had been broken, but it was not the same. Wolfram knew too that he was not enough, that Yuuri was so close to his older brother that he desperately needed the man’s approval and support.   
  
When he could not reach him through words, Yuuri renounced trying. He decided to wait. Maybe Conrad’s anger would diminish over time; maybe, soon, Yuuri would be able to tell him he was carrying his child.


	7. Pilgrimage

Slowly, things began to settle down to relative tranquillity once again. Conrad would smile when near Yuuri and Yuuri would try to enjoy Conrad’s presence, even though he could not share everything he wanted with him.  
  
Yuuri had regular meetings with Gisela -- and occasionally Nicola -- to counsel him and give him updates about his pregnancy, as well as to check the baby’s safety.   
  
To everyone’s surprise and wonder, the Maou seemed to be carrying a viable boy, a first in the history of mazoku male pregnancies.  
  
Yuuri learnt new things about his body as a mazoku and the side-functioning of his powers. He learnt about pain-free birthing theories, through relaxation and breath control. Well… at least he had the basics down, though now he knew that Lamaze’s method was not meant for rowing, or even for calming the witnesses to a birth, but for the parturient person.   
   
Week followed week, months began to pass, and Yuuri found his new relationship with Conrad too dull compared to what they had before. He wanted Conrad back, or maybe the Conrart from the past… So Yuuri began to flirt with the man, and most of the time, he believed Conrad flirted back. Now that Yuuri was looking for signs, he was rather sure that Conrad liked him… even wanted him. Yuuri was not betrothed anymore, so why didn’t Conrad do anything? Even when Yuuri set the situation perfectly for Conrad and himself to kiss, Conrad would look at Yuuri’s belly, find excuses to go elsewhere and flee.  
  
It was the beginning of spring when all the tension between them culminated in a single event.   
  
Four months along, Yuuri’s stomach was starting to round nicely. His body had stopped having its weird reactions to smells, and he was beginning to feel comfortable with the new sensations and weight distribution.   
  
Yuuri went out from a session with Gisela with a white face. They had covered the dangers of male mazoku giving birth and even though Gisela had reassured him of the progresses of medicine and of the quality of the equipment available in the castle in case something went wrong, Yuuri had been shocked. He went to see Conrad directly.  
  
When Conrad saw Yuuri come to him with a catastrophic face, he feared something terrible had happened.  
  
"What’s wrong, Yuuri?" he asked, extremely worried.  
  
"Conrad… I… I need to ask something important of you," Yuuri said. He had his hands clasped together, was tweaking his fingers.  
  
"What can I do for you?" Conrad asked. What was so wrong that Yuuri would be so worried?  
  
"If I die while giving birth… " Yuuri began, his voice shaking.  
  
Conrad’s face fell.  
  
"No," he murmured harshly.  
  
"Conrad." Yuuri scolded him for his interruption, his eyes pleading for Conrad to listen to him.  
  
"You won’t die, Yuuri," he said in a pained voice, as if he could not bear the mere idea of it. Then he recovered some control. "You won’t die, Your Majesty," he said in a steadier voice.  
  
"Conrad." Yuuri repeated, and Conrad just looked at him. "I need to know… just in case… that you’ll do it."  
  
And Conrad asked, resigned, for the sake of Yuuri’s peace of mind. "What do you want me to do?"  
  
"If I die…" Yuuri started again. How hard could it be to say it? "… please raise the child, protect him like you did for me…" Conrad kept listening, his heart aching, his throat feeling as sore as Yuuri’s sounded. "…and love him…"  
  
"Your Majesty…" Conrad interrupted him immediately.  
  
Yuuri raised his voice slightly. "I know you don’t want to forgive…" … _yourself_ , he thought. "…the father, but that’s not what I ask." He tried to persuade him. "Please raise and love him, because he is…" Say it, say it, _our child_ , Yuuri told himself for a second which seemed to last an eternity… and the moment passed "…my child."  
  
Yuuri dropped his head and sighed. Conrad looked at him for a long while before he finally opened his mouth. If it happened -- please don’t let it happen! -- did Yuuri know how hard it would be for Conrad…? But Conrad could not refuse, he could not deny Yuuri this peace of mind.  
  
"Yuuri," he said. "I will. But in exchange… promise me you won’t die."   
  
"I…" And as the king raised his head, Conrad saw the fear in his eyes. It found an echo in him, reminded him of another situation.  
  
 _How could I promise that_. He had said.  
  
"Promise me you’ll live or…" Conrad’s voice died in his throat.  _…or die trying._ August had said.  
  
"I don’t want to… you know… die." Yuuri choked, and Conrad put a reassuring hand on his arm.  
  
"Good," Conrad acknowledged. "Good."  
  
Yuuri was still trembling and Conrad slowly raised his hand to cup Yuuri’s cheek, tucking a strand of Yuuri’s hair behind his ear in passing.  
  
All of a sudden, Yuuri’s found it hard to breathe as he lost himself in Conrad’s eyes. He felt drawn towards those glittering eyes,  pinned under an intense look which seemed to feed on him.  
  
Yuuri swallowed. He knew this wild look.  
  
Yuuri’s face was flushed when Conrad started to draw closer, moving his other hand down to rest on Yuuri’s waist and leaning forward for a kiss.  
  
Yuuri opened his mouth slightly and inched closer to Conrad, but before Conrad’s lips could come to rest on his, Conrad’s hand bumped against Yuuri’s stomach and he stopped.  
  
Instantly and abruptly he seemed to come to his senses -- as if waking from a dream -- and jumped back.  
  
"Forgive me," he said before he walked away, leaving a heartbroken Yuuri standing in the courtyard.  
  
Yuuri was in love, confused and saddened: Conrad seemed to like him, maybe to want him, even. Conrad certainly did not seem to be averse to him that night, even if he did not know it was him… but the only conclusion Yuuri seemed to be able to draw from Conrad’s behaviour was that Conrad did not like his pregnant body.  
  
\----------  
  
  
Wolfram found Yuuri strangely upbeat today, unlike after all the times he had had fights with his brother. Yuuri was… trying to cheer himself up, -- or rather, trying to persuade himself that this time he was all right.   
  
"Is everything well, Yuuri?"  
  
"Yes, of course," Yuuri answered. But his voice was not as enthusiastic as it should have been and tiredness was not the only damper on Yuuri’s morale. Wolfram did not like to see Yuuri like this.  
  
"When was the last time you left the castle?" he asked. Maybe Yuuri needed a change of scenery to distract himself. "Not since the trip to Franceshire, am I right?"  
  
"No," Yuuri protested. "I went down to the baseball park two months ago."  
  
Wolfram sighed, then smiled. "Exactly." Then he suggested, "Would you like for us to go into town before dinner?"  
  
"I’m not allowed to ride," Yuuri immediately said.  
  
"I could arrange a carriage down to town, then we could walk a bit and come back." Of course that had been the idea from the beginning.  
   
"…Okay," Yuuri agreed.  
  
\----------  
  
It had been a good idea. Yuuri had not realised he missed his travels or outings this much; in the village he felt as if he could breathe again. Without reason he laughed, arm in arm with Wolfram, watching the flowers blooming and feeling the fresh air and the spring breeze. He felt free, in contact with nature…   
  
For an instant he felt the urge to go back to that hill, standing on the grass in the wind, looking down on  a village in the mountain.  
  
When he went back to the castle, he felt like a prisoner again and the idea to travel began to nag at him.  
  
By the time he went to sleep, he decided that the first thing he would do in the morning would be to see Gisela.  
  
Carefully he lay down on his side, in the new position he had learned to sleep in, for his greater comfort with the new curves of his body.  
  
\----------  
  
Two hours before noon, the king summoned his councillors and the chief of his personal guard to his office; that meant Gwendal, Gunther and Conrad. Wolfram had come too, at Yuuri’s invitation.   
  
When all of them were seated, wondering why the king had called them, Yuuri began.  
  
"I want to travel."  
  
Their reactions were varied, but they were all mostly surprised… and they were proud of their king. At least he had learned to warn people -- and especially his advisors -- before he embarked on a journey. At the same time, they were relieved: the Maou had seemed depressed lately, and he was not as happy and carefree as before the beginning of his pregnancy… but maybe it should be put on the child’s account.  
  
"Can you and Gunther manage the paperwork and any emergencies in my absence, Gwendal?" he went on.  
  
Gwendal frowned. "How long do you plan to be absent, Your Majesty?" he asked.  
  
"Just a few days," Yuuri answered. "I need to see something other than the castle walls for a while."  
  
And when they frowned, visibly worried about his condition, he added: "Gisela cleared me for travel… and she said she would come with me."  
  
"Are you only going with her?" Gunther asked, implying that it really was a bad idea.  
  
"No… I…" Yuuri sighed. "I suppose I’ll need an escort. Could you arrange it for me, Conrad?"   
  
Of course Conrad could, it was part of his duty, but he asked anyway:  
   
"Yes, Your Majesty. Where do you wish to go?" He needed the destination to provide his king with the best and the most appropriate escort.   
  
"Ruthemberg," he answered, holding Conrad’s gaze, but seemingly worried about his reaction. "You don’t have to go if you don’t want…" He began nervously, but Conrad just smiled in reassurance: he would go anywhere with Yuuri -- or for him.  
  
"Why would you want to go _there_?" Wolfram wondered, and Yuuri quickly began to express his reasons.  
  
"Because… it’s weird that I’ve never really been in that place, and it will be complicated enough that this child has two fathers without me having to explain that I’ve never physically been to the place where…" Suddenly he realised what he was saying and his voice trailed off. "…my child was conceived."  
  
Conrad had blanched and his hands were shaking.  
  
Yuuri paled at the look on Conrad’s face… now Conrad knew, or at least he thought he knew… no, Yuuri could see clearly that Conrad believed one of his men had done it… that one of his men had spent the night with Yuuri and gotten him pregnant, all those years ago.  
  
"I’ll have an escort prepared," Conrad said, and he stood up.  
  
Yuuri knew Conrad was going to leave him again, and flee the room, but he could not leave Conrad like that, not when it was his own fault.   
  
"I forbid you to think badly of them," he said.   
  
The only sign he had that Conrad had heard him was the slight pause he made before closing the door.  
  
  
\----------  
  
After they finally settled the last details, the first thing Yuuri did was to go in search of Conrad. He found soldiers instead, preparing for the journey to come. Conrad had organised a small escort of four men plus himself, assuming that Wolfram would come too, leaving a message for him to warn him if he was not coming, so that he could modify the team accordingly.  
  
Conrad himself had disappeared, and Yuuri kept looking for him. In the garden where he knew Conrad liked to think, he happened upon Yosak.  
  
"Yo!" the spy greeted him.  
  
"Have you seen Conrad?" Yuuri asked.  
  
"Nope. Do you want me to find him for you? You don’t want to tire yourself running all over the castle," Yosak suggested.   
  
Yuuri nodded, and some tension left him… he feared Conrad was hiding from him, but Yosak might have better chances of finding him.  
  
"Then just sit down somewhere and I’ll find the captain for you." Yosak winked at the king.  
  
"Yosak," Yuuri began… maybe if Conrad hid from him, Yosak could make sure Conrad did not feel too badly. "Can you relay my message too?" he asked.  
  
"Of course, young master." Yosak grinned.   
  
"I…" He had to tell Yosak, too. "I don’t know if you have heard, but my child was conceived in Ruthemberg and Conrad is not taking it well…"   
  
Yosak did not seem too surprised. "I should have guessed…" he said.  
  
Yuuri put this to the credit of his spying abilities… but he did not ask exactly what the redhead had guessed.  
  
"Anyway, tell him I don’t want him to think badly of his men or himself. It was my fault, not theirs." There was so much he wanted to tell Conrad… but that would have to do, it was the most urgent part at the moment.  
  
Then he watched Yosak go, sat down in the sun on a bench, and waited.  
  
\----------  
  
  
Yosak had a hunch that his captain would have gone straight to his room, and indeed he found him there, sitting at the edge of his bed and brooding.   
  
Yosak entered and closed the door. At the noise, Conrad raised his head, a frown on his face; he had not wished to be disturbed. Then he recognised the intruder and the mood in the room changed.  
  
"Yo captain!" The spy greeted him, only to be answered by a murderous black glare in the chilling atmosphere.  
  
The hostility oozing from Conrad felt even worse to Yosak than at the time they fought in Franceshire and he had ended up falling from a cliff, pushed by his former captain.  
  
"My, my… aren’t you in a dark mood today," he tried to joke, but it made things worse.  
  
"Get out." Conrad’s voice was freezing cold and full of hatred.  
  
"Ma… captain… you are no fun…" He tried again. "Or maybe you’d prefer I come back in a dress?"  
  
"Get. Out." Conrad raised his voice, his eyes full of murder.  
  
Yosak did not like that, but he had a duty to the king, he had told him he would relay the message. Sighing, he took a more serious martial pose and repeated Yuuri’s message like a report, adding that the boy wanted to see Conrad. He had not said it but it showed.  
  
Conrad was slightly more receptive this time and tolerated Yosak’s speech until he had finished. He even answered, knowing that if he did not, the man would not leave him alone.  
  
"I’m not going to blame my men for something they did not do…"  he mumbled grimly, eyes closed.   
  
"That’s good!" Yosak interjected.   
  
"…and I cannot help but feeling guilty," Conrad went on. "But I know whose fault it is and I’m going to blame you, Yosak!"  
  
Yosak took a step back from the smouldering man. Now what had he done?  
  
"It was your damned soup," he said, standing up. "All your fault, Yosak."  
  
Yosak’s eyes widened and he turned and fled for his life.  
  
  
\----------  
  
  
Yosak caught his breath outside, leaning on a wall. Whew, but his captain was scary… and he certainly was cross now, it might be a good idea to avoid him for the next few days… and hide, just in case the man went after him. But before that, he had to find the boy again.  
  
Yuuri was still where he had left him, and he explained that he had found the captain in his room and delivered the message.  
  
"I’m not sure it reached his mind, though," he added. "He was pissed at me."  
  
"Thank you, Yosak." Yuuri stood up. Now that he knew where Conrad was, he could go and talk to him.  
  
\----------  
  
  
Conrad had gone back to sit on his bed. He felt terrible.  
  
Now he understood all of Yuuri’s protestations since he had come back from the past. He understood why Yuuri had spoken of passion, why Yuuri said he had been willing, why he said it had been no rape.   
  
He felt bad because it was for him that Yuuri had felt the need to hide the child’s paternity… to protect him from a sensible subject, and to avoid talking with him about the Ruthemberg army…  
  
Conrad was distressed. Yuuri had had some of the soup… that’s why he had wanted it.  
  
At this instant he hated Yosak… but he had made a promise, and his hands were tied. He would respect his promise to a dead man, to August, and not harm Yosak… because August was not there anymore to witness it with him.  
  
There was a tentative knock on his door.  
  
"Conrad?" It was Yuuri.  
  
"Enter," he spoke up, dejected.  
  
Yuuri entered and closed the door behind him, hesitant. He tentatively took a few steps forward, towards Conrad.  
  
"Are you angry with me?" he asked.  
  
Conrad’s head snapped up. "Of course not."  
  
"I don’t want you to blame yourself," Yuuri went on.  
  
Conrad sighed. "No…" He did not, not for the reasons Yuuri thought anyway. "I blame Yosak instead." He looked at Yuuri directly. "It’s his fault, for the soup."  
  
Yuuri’s world started to spin and his heart stopped for a second. Conrad knew. Conrad knew. Yuuri felt as if he could melt down in a dejected puddle on the floor. Conrad knew, and what he was saying was as good as saying he had not wanted Yuuri. He bent his head down, disheartened.  
  
"Will you have revenge on Yosak?" he asked in a very small voice.  
  
"No." Conrad answered, his voice equally unsure. "Not unless you give me a direct order, Your Majesty." He had promised August after all.  
  
Yuuri just nodded. Then he turned ready to leave, sad and confused but Conrad’s voice stopped him.  
  
"Yuuri." Yuuri turned back towards Conrad. He had stood up. He gestured towards Yuuri’s stomach. "How is it going?" He asked.  
  
Yuuri was surprised. "It’s going well. I mean… everyone is taking good care of me."  
  
"Except for me," Conrad concluded. "I apologise, Yuuri… for not being there."   
  
Conrad had been there, but not _there_ at the same time and Yuuri understood what he meant.  
  
"It’s all right, Conrad," he answered. It hurt inside that Conrad had not been very present to share the past months with him, but he could understand how the man would not want to, everything considered.  
  
"Will you come?" he asked. Come to Ruthemberg, to a place of bad memories…  
  
"Yes, Yuuri. I’ll come," Conrad answered gently, and Yuuri nodded. He would enjoy what he could.  
  
"See you at lunch then." And Yuuri left the room, feeling altogether reassured, dismayed and confused.


	8. Back to the king's arms

They had departed; Yuuri stayed in the carriage with Wolfram and Gisela while Conrad and three other men rode at its side. But Yuuri could not really bring himself to enjoy the trip. They travelled slowly and rested at inns along the way, and during the two first days of travel Yuuri had sat by the window, dejected, not even thinking about the landscape, only set on the thought that Conrad had not wanted him.  
  
He watched through the window, looking at Conrad riding at their flank. Today they would arrive in Ruthemberg, and since they had started this morning, Conrad had been distracted. Even now he just sat on his horse, daydreaming. Yuuri opened his window slightly so that he could speak to the man.   
  
"Hey, Conrad," he called to him. Conrad looked startled, as if he had been somewhere else entirely, and drew his horse up to walk closer to the carriage.  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty?"   
  
Yuuri sighed, but could not bring himself to protest. "You look gloomy," he remarked. Then he expressed his worry. "You can still go back, if you don’t want to go there."    
  
Conrad looked surprised. "Of course not." He had no intention to leave his king, he had failed him too much as of late. "I was just thinking."  
  
"What about?" Yuuri asked. "You looked so sad."  
  
Conrad looked back at the road for a moment, wondering. "I’m thinking about someone I met in Ruthemberg," he explained.   
  
Yuuri bent closer from the window, not wanting to miss anything Conrad said.   
  
Looking back to the carriage, Conrad noticed how intently Yuuri was listening and he went on. "Though our paths only crossed for a very short time, it is someone who had quite an impact on my life."  
  
He fell silent anew, reminiscing.   
  
Now Yuuri felt curious. "Who was it?"  
  
Conrad did not look at him so he would not have to smile when he answered. "He was a human boy lost in the midst of a war… he spent a night with me and died not even three hours after I left him that morning. His name was August." Conrad did not seem to want to say anymore, but Yuuri did not ask.   
  
Yuuri was shocked.   
  
Conrad really did not know. Conrad thought he had died… or rather Conrad thought August had died. Then it meant… It meant that Conrad did not know that he was August. It meant that Conrad believed… It meant that Conrad thought he had been with someone else. Yuuri felt a new hope. Maybe Conrad really had wanted him, in the past, before his belly had started to grow…  
  
Yuuri wanted to call to Conrad, to tell him ‘I am August.’ But he felt shy, and Gisela and Wolfram were already looking at him in a weird way after he had stayed immobile and frozen at the window for so long… And if he admitted the truth to himself, he was afraid of Conrad’s reaction. He had lied to Conrad about his name, Conrad believed he had been human… Conrad thought he was dead… What would he think about Yuuri lying to him? Could Yuuri even live up to Conrad’s memories of him?   
  
Yuuri had to tell him, but he would have to find a time to be alone with him. Conrad seemed very reluctant to share August and his memories of him and definitely would not react well if Yuuri brought him up in front of the others.  
  
\----------  
  
They arrived shortly before lunch. The village seemed different to Yuuri, but when they stopped the carriage in front of the inn he recognised it immediately. ‘The King’s Arms’ had not changed a bit, the same courtyard, the same façade, the same well… the same buildings.   
  
It seemed empty to Yuuri.   
  
They descended from the carriage and Yuuri looked around, reminiscing, careful not to stop his gaze on the wooden wall of the barn on the other side of the courtyard. He cast a worried glance at Conrad, but the man stopped looking around to smile reassuringly at Yuuri. Yuuri felt relieved.   
  
A woman and a servant came out to greet them, and they -- Yuuri, Gisela, Conrad and Wolfram -- headed inside for lunch. Yuuri had never been inside the inn, but it did not differ much from what he knew. He did not listen much to Gisela and Wolfram’s banter as he ate: he was distracted.   
  
The woman who had greeted them upon their arrival and was now serving them lunch was the innkeeper… that innkeeper. She was still a beauty in her early forties, and she was… flirting. With Conrad.   
  
Conrad answered amiably enough and Yuuri felt jealous. He felt jealous and insecure, but that did not prevent him from calling her back for more wine or water, so that he could watch Conrad interact with her more closely. He felt torn and hurt, because at the same time, he really was encouraging them.   
  
Thankfully their meal was not too long.  
  
They headed outside then, and Yuuri asked for a short walk: he wanted to go back to the top of that hill and look down on the village, remember the peace and balance he had had before all of this had started. Only Gisela and Wolfram went with him: he did not want to be too crowded, and Conrad… well, Conrad seemed drawn in his memories too, so Yuuri did not ask him to go with them.   
  
The breeze was calm and mild enough. It was a warm spring day. Rare white clouds drifted in the blue sky. Yuuri walked slowly on the small path, taking the landscape in, listening to the wind playing through the grass and the roll of stones from Gisela and Wolfram’s footsteps. They went slowly, as Yuuri easily found himself out of breath.  
  
Finally they arrived at the top, at the place where he had appeared some twenty years ago, and Yuuri looked back to the village. It had not changed and from up there, it was exactly the same as he remembered, only the half-mazoku’s army was missing.  
  
"It’s beautiful," Wolfram stated at his side, and he found himself agreeing.   
  
Gisela seemed to have found a rare plant and was collecting it nearby.   
  
They stayed there for some time, enjoying the tranquillity and peace.  
  
After that they went back slowly towards the inn, and the afternoon was drawing to its end.  
  
It was meant to only be a short trip and Yuuri had not wanted to stay too long, and in an hour or so they would start to head back and stop for the night in a neighbouring village. But in the meantime they sat at a table on a terrace at the back of the inn, enjoying drinks under the mild sun.  
  
It was nearly time to go, but Yuuri had found some closure. Now he could tell Conrad -- he had the strength to deal with the man’s reaction. Speaking of which, he had not seen said man since lunchtime. Wolfram was also looking around and echoed his thoughts.  
  
"Where is  Conrad?"  
  
"I don’t know," Gisela answered. "It seems the guards don’t know where he went either. I hope he has not gone too far." She stood up to check inside.  
  
Yuuri looked to his right, at the corner of the barn he could see in the distance. He had a feeling…  
  
"Maybe he’s in the barn," he suggested. He himself did not feel the need to go there, but Conrad might…  
  
Gisela came back. "I can’t find him… or the innkeeper either," she remarked.   
  
"Try the barn," Yuuri suggested again, but then he superimposed both ideas and did not feel well at the thought. Conrad with the innkeeper in the barn… like that time. He fainted.  
  
  
\----------  
  
  
There was a bit of panic. Thankfully, Wolfram had been looking at Yuuri when he started to fall, and he caught him before he could slip to the ground.   
  
"Yuuri!" he called. But the young king was out for the count.   
  
Gisela rushed to his side, and had Wolfram lie him down on the wooden bench where he had sat. Quickly she asserted that there was no immediate problems before taking the situation into control.   
  
"Stay here," she ordered Wolfram while she went inside for a second. She reappeared with a key in her hand.  
  
"You and you," she pointed at two of the soldiers, "Carry him upstairs." Then she added: "Wolfram. Go and find the innkeeper to tell her we are spending the night. If you see Conrad, tell him too."  
  
Then she went inside with Yuuri, to watch over him.  
  
Wolfram looked around, feeling suddenly abandoned. He sighed and decided to follow Yuuri’s advice: he went back to the courtyard, and from there to the barn.   
  
He opened the wooden door. Yuuri had been right: they were there, both of them.  
  
His brother was doing a menial task, rearranging the piles of hay with a fork while the innkeeper stood watching a few feet away. Wolfram seemed to have interrupted them talking.  
  
Suddenly he was angry, as if it were their fault that Yuuri had passed out.  
  
"Sir Weller," he scolded him. "We were worried about you."  
  
He turned towards the human woman. "We’ll be spending the night," he told her. "We already took a room, but could you come back to make arrangement for the others?" Then he had an afterthought and added, "Please." But she was already on the move, and he turned back to his brother, who had put his fork down and was cuffing his sleeves again.   
  
"Is something wrong?" He asked, sensing that something was the matter.  
  
Wolfram did not feel particularly merciful. "Yes, there is" he answered. "And if you had not been gallivanting around you would know it." He puffed. "So I suggest you go back with me and this time stay with your king. He has fainted in your absence."  
  
Conrad paled and started back towards the inn, leaving Wolfram to close the door behind him.   
  
Wolfram sighed… really, his brother was too obvious…  
  
  
\----------  
  
  
Yuuri woke up to a door softly closing. It was already night; he was in a bed in what seemed to be an inn… Conrad! Yuuri carefully sat up. Gisela was asleep in a chair by his side and a blanket had been carefully wrapped around her shoulders. Yuuri stood up and stealthily -- as much as he could manage, anyway -- went to the windows. In the dark greys of the night, he could see a figure below. Conrad was looking up at the stars. In the east, a moon that had been full sometime earlier this week was rising.   
  
Yuuri put a hand on his large stomach. Then he remembered the afternoon; he had to talk to Conrad.   
  
Just as the thought this, Conrad began to move away and towards the barn and Yuuri decided to act: it was now or never.   
  
Quickly, he carefully sat down to put his shoes on and then went down the stairs, somehow managing to do so without waking Gisela.   
  
He encountered no one on the stairs or in the entrance, and he went outside, intent on following Conrad.   
  
It was dark, but not too terribly; he could see where he was going from the light of the moon. The warmth of the day had not yet disappeared and Yuuri headed towards the other side of the courtyard.   
  
Somewhere along the way he remembered the last time he had gone there, and took the long way around, wanting to see whether the back door was still opened this time.  
  
His hand stilled on the wood of the door, remembering how he had rushed in the last time, not expecting the rest of the night to turn like that at all… He mustered up all his courage and pulled the door open, just enough to go in.   
  
No light was on this time, and the moon was not yet high enough to fully light the barn through the openings at the top.  
  
Conrad stood there in the dark, alone. Just like that, Yuuri knew he was reminiscing. Yuuri was relieved. He closed the door behind him and Conrad jumped at the sound.   
  
"I feared you would have company again, tonight." Yuuri said.   
  
"August!" Conrad sounded astonished… Well, of course, he had thought him dead. Conrad stayed petrified where he was, unsure, unbelieving. "You are alive."  
  
"Yes," Yuuri said.   
  
"I thought you were dead," Conrad went on, words flowing unguarded from his mouth. "I thought that you fell in the waterfall, that those two Shimaron deserters had killed you."  
  
Conrad sounded at though he were in pain, and Yuuri only realised then that Conrad must have come back for him and been devastated, thinking him dead.  
  
"I survived," he said, somewhat guiltily.   
  
"How? Why ?" Conrad now asked, still shocked, and Yuuri understood; the main question was not how he had escaped but how he had known to come here tonight.  
  
"I saw you headed here," Yuuri answered. "I wanted to… " Well, not _see_ : it was still too dark to see very well. "…meet you again."  
  
Conrad took a step toward him and Yuuri tensed. "Don’t," he said, pained.   
  
Conrad just stopped where he was. He did not say anything but Yuuri could tell he was feeling thwarted, disappointed.  
  
"I… changed," he apologised. "I’m not like you remember." How would Conrad react to his pregnancy? He did not know how to begin to tell him he really was Yuuri, what if Conrad fled from him again? Yuuri wanted to draw this out; at least, here, he had a connection to Conrad. Here he could call him by his real name. "Conrart…" he whispered passionately.  
  
Conrad nodded unseen in the dark. Of course August would not be the same. Twenty years had passed, after all, and August was human. "Your voice hasn’t changed," he pointed out. Then he added. "I must be different as well."  
  
"Yes," Yuuri acknowledged. "I liked your long hair better."  
  
Conrad chuckled. Then they felt silent. It was not really uncomfortable, but still twenty years or five months stood between them and neither knew where to begin.  
  
It was finally Conrad who broke the silence again. "The innkeeper solicited me again here this afternoon," he stated. "I refused."  
  
"I feared she would be here with you tonight," Yuuri retaliated.  
  
"I told her I loved someone else… but what I felt was that this place only belonged to us,"  Conrad explained.  
  
"You love someone?"  Yuuri inquired in an unsure voice.  
  
Conrad did not answer immediately and Yuuri feared he had gone too far.  
  
"Yes, there is someone important to me," he finally said, and immediately continued. "Does it bother you that I still desire you?"  
  
Yuuri choked. "You do?"   
  
"I used to dream about you," Conrad explained.  
  
Yuuri felt Conrad’s voice resound through him, echoing his longing.  
  
"I want you too," he gasped out.  
  
In seconds, Conrad was upon him.  
  
"No, don’t!" Yuuri warned him weakly, but Conrad paid no heed to him.  
  
"I don’t care that you have changed, August," he said, and reached to envelop the man in his arms.  
  
Yuuri tensed in the embrace, relishing the close warmth and Conrad’s scent, waiting for Conrad’s reaction. Conrad’s body made contact with Yuuri’s stomach and he froze.  
  
"I’m sorry, Conrart," he said, distraught. "I’m…"  
  
"You are not human!" Conrad interrupted him, clearly surprised.


	9. His name is Yuuri

  
_" You are not human !" Conrad interrupted him, clearly surprised._  
  
\---------Part 8: His name is Yuuri ---------  
  
Yuuri could not believe his ears. "What?!" he asked, bringing his head up in a shot. Conrad just found out he was pregnant and all he could think to say was that!?   
  
"You are not human," Conrad repeated wonderingly and somewhat slower. He held his hands on Yuuri’s side and backed away, squinting to try and see Yuuri’s face.  
  
"What has that to do with anything?" Yuuri asked. Being half-mazoku was very low on the list of priorities of what he thought was the matter.  
  
"When did you know?"  
  
Yuuri really did not understand Conrad anymore. Maybe he had never understood him. "I found out my dad was a mazoku, what, four years ago?"  
  
Conrad relaxed a bit, and Yuuri really did not understand why… he knew it twenty years ago too… well, except for the fact that he wasn’t born yet. Conrad drew Yuuri closer in his embrace, letting the young man’s head rest on his shoulder.  
  
"And you are pregnant," he stated.   
  
There they were. Yuuri tensed. "Sorry. I must repulse you," he mumbled. He did not want to sound this weak. He did not want to cry.  
  
"You don’t," Conrad answered seriously. "Why would you think so?"  
  
"You… I… I…" Yuuri broke down in tears.  
  
Conrad cradled him against his chest, bringing a hand to his hair, but the young man was inconsolable.  
  
Gently, Conrad brought him with him to the side of the barn and sat with him on a pile of hay, so that he could rest his feet, and he gathered him in his arms anew.  
  
"Does the father not love you anymore because of it?" he guessed, and Yuuri’s sobs hardened.  
  
Soothingly, he caressed Yuuri’s hair and wiped his cheeks. "Don’t think that," he whispered, bent toward him so that their foreheads nearly touched. "I find you very lovable anyway." He brought his hand behind Yuuri’s neck and softly kissed him, a quick brush on the lips.  
  
Yuuri hid his head in Conrad’s chest, catching his breath. His weeping was less harsh but his tears would not stop. "Conrart," he whimpered. He had to tell him everything, he could not keep it inside anymore, the fear hurt too much.  
  
"Yes, August," Conrart answered, and Yuuri tensed.  
  
"Not August," he said between his tears. "I lied." And he clutched Conrad’s vest, not wanting to let go, wiping his eyes against it.  
  
Conrad was lost, but he still passed a hand on the pregnant man’s back, trying to calm him down.  
  
"My name is Yuuri," he whispered finally. "And you are the father."  
  
To say he was shocked was a huge understatement. Conrad flat-out panicked.  
  
"Yuuri?" He croaked. It was a good thing they had been sitting, because Conrad lost his balance and fell down on his back. Yuuri went with him as he utterly refused to let go of the man. He could not bear to have Conrad flee again before everything was settled.   
  
Yuuri could feel Conrad’s frantic heartbeat and hear his breath catch each time he tried to talk and could not. So he spoke again, to explain himself.  
  
"I’m sorry, but you didn’t know, and I’m sure it would have shown if you had remembered me as Yuuri so I had to think up a name…" He babbled, pleading, desperately wishing Conrad would forgive him. "…And then I couldn‘t explain to you because you wouldn’t believe me, and I was afraid and then I believed you knew and did not want me and…"  
  
Conrad slowly started to take the situation in. He wrapped his arms, which had gone slack, around Yuuri again and he squeezed him close, effectively shutting him up.  
  
"It was rape, wasn’t it?" Conrad asked in a croaked, anxious voice. Yuuri could feel his horror at thinking it was he who had caused him pain, at thinking that August was Yuuri and had not knowingly come to him.  
  
"No! No," Yuuri exclaimed, clutching Conrad. "It was most definitely not! Maybe I didn’t know what to expect when I came in, maybe I didn’t know what I wanted, but I still wanted you," he said forcefully, then with a gentler voice: "I wanted you, Conrart. I already loved you back then."  
  
"Then if I had been someone else…" Conrad’s voice shook.  
  
"It was you," Yuuri answered. "And I was willing. Did I ever try to stop you? Did I run screaming?"  
  
Conrad made a tentative smile; no, the one to run had not been August… or Yuuri.  
  
Yuuri slowly pushed up from Conrad and, without releasing him, softly kissed him. "I wouldn’t change that night for the world," he concluded.   
  
Conrad stirred below him, and turned on his side to face him. He now had one hand wrapped possessively and protectively around Yuuri’s waist, and he brought the other one up to cup Yuuri’s cheek.  
  
"The first time was bad," He said contritely, bringing his head close to Yuuri’s. Now that he knew who August was, he could see the youth’s features and marvel at them.  
  
Yuuri smiled in the slowly diminishing shadows. "Well…yes, but the rest was okay and you could make up for that, can’t you?" His smile was impish as he suggested that.   
  
Slowly, looking at each other’s gleaming eyes, they moved together to kiss. It was a new kind of kiss, a reunion of sorts.  Conrad’s mouth was apologetic against Yuuri’s, conveying what he dared not say so bluntly: "Please, please forgive me. Forgive me and be still mine." And Yuuri responded with a loving, tentative touch and a message of his own: "I forgive you. Are you sure you still want me?"  
  
They marvelled at each other’s touch, mouths millimetres apart, exchanging breath.   
  
"Yuuri…" Conrad whispered, as if he could still not quite believe it. His right hand came up to play softly with Yuuri’s hair, brushing it oh so carefully, as if the youth in in arms would crumble like sand and disappear.   
  
"Yes, Conrart," Yuuri answered. He was so relieved. In this moment everything was coming out right. He had found Conrad again here. He took Conrad’s left hand in both his, pressing his palms on both sides, relishing the contact and the warmth.  
  
Conrad slowly bent down to kiss Yuuri again. This kiss was firm and not hesitant, but it was soft, and Yuuri could feel Conrad’s contact change on his lips, against him… as if Conrad were melting… except he was not. He could feel Conrad’s mouth merge with his. It felt as if Conrad was abandoning himself, delivering everything he was to Yuuri’s care, trusting him to keep it for him for this while, until he had accomplished his new goal of pleasing Yuuri.  
  
Conrad emitted a short whine and he started to caress Yuuri’s body through his clothes, his hand wandering tentatively to feel Yuuri’s round belly. It was because of him that Yuuri was in this state, it was his child that Yuuri was bearing, and the idea of it brought him mixed feelings, of warmth, guilt, and wanting.   
  
He needed to give something to Yuuri tonight, now. He wanted to see to the young man’s pleasure. Slowly and respectfully, he began to undress him, kissing his face before finding his lips again, his hands brushing over Yuuri’s skin in the discarded clothes’ wake before he settled his torso back in the tingling hay.   
  
He paused at Yuuri’s trousers, looking at the round white belly on which the moonlight starting to seep from the windows fell.   
  
Yuuri was beautiful like this, his eyes gleaming with joy and want, his crimson lips slightly parted, looking at Conrad as if his dreams had come true. Still Conrad hesitated, his right hand resting on the heat of Yuuri’s crotch where he could feel his erection pushing up.  
  
He could not find his words, eyes locked with Yuuri’s, so powerful were his emotions. But Yuuri saw it there, or maybe he guessed.   
  
"It’s all right," he whispered tenderly, taking Conrad’s left hand in his right and bringing it up to twine their fingers together. "Gisela said it would not do harm."   
  
Conrad smiled then, a teary smile as he bent down to kiss Yuuri again, trying to convey how wonderful and loveable he found him. Only then did he finish undressing his king.  
  
He lovingly kissed his stomach and his thighs, and cupped Yuuri with his right hand. Yuuri clutched at his shoulders, shuddering, and he protested. "You too, Conrart. I want you naked too."  
  
Conrad jumped so fast to obey him that Yuuri laughed.  
  
It was a clear happy laugh and Conrad smiled in response, then softly chuckled at himself while he hurriedly undressed.   
  
"Conrart," Yuuri called, beckoning him closer. There was so much he wanted to tell the man, but he found himself suddenly tongue tied. _I love you, I’m so glad you are there with me, I want you, be with me…_ but those were only a few of the things he meant. There was so much more Yuuri wanted to share.  
  
Conrad came back and took the proffered hand which steadily pulled him back down. He went with it easily, as if it were natural, normal. He belonged there.  
  
"Thank you.," he said. "Yuuri." And once again it felt as if much more was exchanged.  
  
They smiled. They kissed. Alone in the barn, lying naked in the hay under a ray of moonlight, they were in their own world.  
  
\----------  
  
Tenderly, Yuuri led Conrad with his hands, directing him on his discovery of Yuuri’s body. He wanted to hold Conrad, touch him everywhere, love him like he had that last time they had made love in the morning all those years ago. But he could wait. Conrad seemed to want to learn him, to memorise every patch of skin, so that no unknown part remained and Yuuri would be all his… Yuuri wanted Conrad to know him like that.  
  
Soon both were driven forward by a further need and they changed positions; before long Conrad, his breath slightly uneven,  found himself spooning Yuuri from behind, arms reaching around to hold him.   
  
He pressed his forehead to Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri could feel the tension and anticipation between them and he trembled slightly. "I want you." It had been a murmur against his skin, something soft and held back, as if Conrad was ashamed to admit his own needs. Yuuri took a deep breath, trying to control his excitement. "Yes." He nearly cried out. If Conrad did not dare to take what he could, like he had that first time, then it was Yuuri to give. "Take me, Conrart," he said, blushing and closing his eyes. "Make me yours."  
  
Conrad made a soft keen noise and his hands wandered down to his hips, then one brushed over his buttocks and slid between them. His fingers went to rest on Yuuri’s entrance, hesitantly teasing.  
  
"Now, Conrart," Yuuri demanded, pleaded. "Please."  
  
Conrad wet his fingers and pressed them into Yuuri. Yuuri’s hips thrust forward in Conrad’s other hand.   
  
"Conrart," he called. It felt so good Yuuri believed he would cry, but more than that he wanted Conrad; he wanted Conrad inside him, a reassurance that he really was there and wanting Yuuri, that he was _close_.  
  
Maybe Conrad knew him enough to understand what he wanted, or maybe Conrad felt the same, but he wet his erection as well, and positioned himself behind Yuuri.  
  
He was gentle, careful. He whispered in reassurance to Yuuri, asking how he felt, showing how he wished their first time could have been. Like before Yuuri was responsive, and this time he did not have to worry about what he was saying as he talked back.  
  
The position was different, it felt different, with the pressure on his organs, the tension in his belly… the baby moving.  
  
It felt wonderful and he said it, repeating it with Conrart’s name.  
  
Soon he wanted more, and faster, and he asked while Conrad obliged. Conrad’s hand moved to stroke him again, this time more urgently.  
  
"Yuuri, Yuuri…" Conrad kept on repeating his king’s name, conveying how much he wanted him, how good it felt inside him.  
  
"I can’t hold out much longer," he whispered with a breathless voice at Yuuri’s ear.  
  
"Hmmmmm…" Yuuri too was breathless. "Ahh!" He moaned out when Conrad made a move that felt particularly good.  
  
Conrad’s hand’s movements became more frantic and his thrusts quickened, but it was not until he came and cried out that Yuuri let go too.  
  
\----------  
  
They lay together, resting. Conrad was carefully wrapped around his king.   
  
"We should go back," he murmured. "I don’t want you to catch a cold."   
  
"Hmmm…" Yuuri pouted. "Five more minutes."  
  
Conrad chuckled and kissed him. "How about I draw you a bath when we get back?"  
  
"You would? At this hour? Why?" Yuuri was surprised.  
  
Conrad smiled. "It gives me an excuse to be near you."  
  
Yuuri turned his head to look Conrad directly face to face. "You don’t need to make up excuses, you know?" he said, very seriously. Conrad’s words were stolen from him. He did not know what to say, so he held Yuuri closer.  
  
It was confusing, all that had happened until now, and to learn that the boy who had been so important to him all those years ago was Yuuri… Well… In the end, he reflected, whether Yuuri or August, his favourite season definitely was the summer, whose sun he held in his arms.  
  
\----------  
  
The inn was silent when they went in. On the first floor, in the Maou’s room, Gisela was still asleep.   
  
"I’ll go take care of that bath for you," Conrad whispered. Yuuri nodded and let go of his hand, but still followed him. Even if he knew this was real, he did not want to leave Conrad for a moment, for fear he would wake and this would be a dream.  
  
He watched as Conrad prepared hot water for him, and adjusted the temperature until it would be comfortable for his king and not too hot, then finally deemed it ready.  
  
Yuuri made to undress, but Conrad stopped him. "Let me? Please?" Yuuri let Conrad carefully undress him. It was a kind of apology, for not being there for Yuuri earlier. Yuuri could feel how Conrad wanted to tell him that he was important to him. That both of them were. He could feel their child happily moving around inside him; everything felt right.  
  
"Did anyone warn your parents?" Conrad asked some time later.  
  
"No," Yuuri answered. He tensed a bit. "I can’t begin to imagine what their reactions will be… " Seeing Conrad’s grimace, he added. "I mean… it’s not as if it were normal for men to get pregnant, on Earth." He sighed.  
  
"What’s wrong?" Conrad asked.  
  
"I can’t even tell them," Yuuri explained. "Gisela and Murata both told me I should not travel between worlds until the… until our baby is born." He smiled. Yes, it was theirs. "Anyway, by the time they learn of it, I will already have given birth… so…"  
  
"Oh." Conrad took Yuuri’s hand. This really seemed to disturb Yuuri; he knew how the young man loved his family. "You could send someone to tell them," he suggested. "Why did Murata not do it?"  
  
"I don’t know," Yuuri said. "But I don’t know if… I’m not sure it would be a good idea if he were the one to explain this." He remembered the time he had found Murata and his mom, cooking with frilly aprons… Maybe it would be all right for her, but for his dad and Shouri…  
  
"Ah." Conrad nodded.  
  
"Would you…. " Yuuri started and stopped immediately. "Would you go with him? To tell them?" He did not want to send Conrad away, but he could trust him to do things right.  
  
"Anything for you, Yuuri."   
  
\----------  
  
The next morning they began their trip back to the castle. Gisela and Wolfram were fussing over Yuuri… Conrad was as well. In all the previous night’s excitement, he had forgotten the king’s fainting spell and seemed guilty about it.   
  
"It’s all right," Yuuri told him quietly so that only he would hear. "I just feared you… you know… had company." Conrad had looked sheepish.  
  
\----------  
  
When they arrived back home, the first thing Yuuri did was to have Murata organise the journey back to Earth with Ulrike’s help.  
  
"What do you mean, one week has gone by already?"  He had been horrified at Murata’s casual mention of the time passed on Earth since he had last come here, a few months ago. Usually nearly no time would have gone by when he returned home.  
  
"Well… Shinou feels somewhat tired after all the ordeal with Soushu, so he did not want to make too much effort…" Murata had explained.  
  
"But it was years ago!"  
  
"So?"   
  
Concerned that his family would be worried, Yuuri had pressed them to go as soon as possible.  
  
"It does not feel right to leave you," Conrad had said.  
  
"No, but I can’t not tell them either… so please be quick… But please be successful," Yuuri had answered. "And as you tell them, please convince them I’m happy."  
  
The next day, Conrad and Murata both left together on this mission to Earth.


	10. In the family way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Inspired by the video of my birth, French history for royal birth giving, and the movie "Gone With The Wind."

  
Yuuri finally came to understand how disturbing his travelling to Earth had been for people in Shinmakoku, for Wolfram, for Greta. Months passed and there was not a day when he would not expect Conrad to come back… except he did not. Ulrike became used to sending messages to the Blood Pledge Castle as well: ‘Not yet, Your Majesty.’ It was frustrating.  
  
Sometimes he regretted having sent Conrad away at this time; he missed him. But at the same time, he could not imagine his family’s reaction if he ever had a baby without warning them. He knew it had been the right thing to do. He hoped Conrad was all right and would come back soon.  
  
His pregnancy progressed as well. His belly grew further, he got back pains. Then he got his first real contractions --  Conrad still was not back.  
  
Finally it was time, and Yuuri went into labour. His birth canal had developed nicely and they finally had decided for him to have the most natural birthing as possible; every surgery was risky. He was resting in his bed, Gisela by his side, while the others stayed further at the other end of the room; apparently it was tradition that a royal birth giving was relatively public… Yuuri tried to remain calm, breathing deeply, but he was worried and could not really relax. Would Conrad come back?   
  
About one hour after his water had broken, there was a commotion in the corridor. The door opened and a very wet and slightly panicky Conrad came in. He was back. Yuuri was happy and relieved, but Gisela would  not let Conrad stay and threw him out the door.  
  
"When he is dry he can come back.," she said to the king.  
  
Yuuri did not mind. Conrad was there. Conrad was back. He did not have to wait long before the man returned to the room, dry and changed. He went to the bedside to squeeze the parturient man’s hand before he would have to retreat to the place were the others were.  
  
"I told them. They love you," he whispered the gist of his mission’s result.  
  
"Conrad." Yuuri held the man’s hand in his. "Stay, please?"  
  
He was brought a chair and held Yuuri’s hand, whispering him encouragements, breathing with him. When Yuuri felt the pain he squeezed Conrad’s hand in his. The only cry or shout when the baby finally came out was Conrad’s: Yuuri had crushed his hand.   
  
Then Yuuri was given his son to hold, and he marvelled at this new life -- his and Conrad’s son.  
  
\----------  
  
Yuuri was exhausted afterwards, but he was all right. The birthing had gone well and the baby boy was healthy. Cheri held it while Gisela cut the cord and people expressed congratulations.  
  
"What is the name of the child, Your Majesty?" Cheri asked. Yuuri did not answer and evaded the question; he wanted to speak about that with Conrad. While Cheri took charge and went to help bathe the child, Yuuri rested and Conrad began to tell him about his family.  
  
"Your mother is overjoyed," He began.  
  
"Wait," Yuuri interrupted him tiredly. "About the child’s name. I wanted to speak about it with you."  
  
Conrad smiled a large, grateful smile. "What did you have in mind, Yuuri?" he asked gently. Then he jested: "Are you sure you want me to help you name your…" Yuuri threw him a warning look. "…our child?" He smiled.   
  
"Really sure, godfather," he answered. "I…for a first name I thought Shouhei(1)… or Siegfried." He had done some research on names in Shinmakoku, and on what he thought would be a good Japanese name.   
  
"These are good names," Conrad agreed. Yuuri still seemed uneasy. "What is troubling you?"  
  
Yuuri felt hesitant, but Conrad took his hand tenderly in his and he found some courage to talk: "I… about the last name…" he trailed off.  
  
"Oh." Conrad pressed Yuuri’s hand in reassurance.   
  
He took a second to pause, then bent closer to Yuuri and looked into his eyes, seemingly having come to a decision. "Would you marry me?" he asked.    
  
Yuuri had not been expecting this. He stayed frozen. Conrad added quickly: "I could take your name if you want."  
  
That jolted Yuuri out of his trance. "No, no…" he answered. "Let’s keep our names," he added quickly. "I could not imagine you be named something else than Sir Weller Conrart." He smiled. "But of course I’d marry you Conrart. I love you."   
  
Conrad’s face relaxed, he had been slightly worried. He softly kissed Yuuri on the mouth.  
  
Yuuri’s smile widened and he looked lovingly at Conrad. "But for the child…" he started again.  
  
"He is ours," Conrad agreed.  
  
"Siegfried Shouhei Weller then?"  
  
"Yes."  Perhaps it was not the most perfect name, and probably Conrad would have agreed to anything right then, but Yuuri felt good in this instant.  
  
They stayed silent for a moment, just enjoying each other’s presence. Then Conrad remembered his mission.  
  
"Your mother was overjoyed," he started again. "She gave me a thousand bits of advice for you… but I arrived too late for most of it…" He smiled in a sort of regretful way.  
  
"And dad?"  
  
"Well, he was… surprised," Conrad said. Shouma had not been too happy with him, but would not say it in front of his wife. "He did not know male mazoku were able to become pregnant. But then he said that the most important thing was for you to be happy."  
  
Yuuri sensed the hole in his retelling. "You’re not telling me everything."  
  
"…He warned me to treat you right and threatened me of various tortures and deaths should I fail to do it," Conrad admitted.  
  
"You told them? That you were the father, I mean." Yuuri was surprised, happily surprised that Conrad had willingly told them. But then he frowned, worried. "How did Shouri react?"  
  
Conrad seemed embarrassed, but gave to Yuuri’s intent gaze. "He jumped at me."  
  
"He hit you?" Yuuri was not happy. Conrad gave a sheepish smile… Shouri had wanted to kill him at that moment…  
  
"It turned out all right. He was just worried for you. They all are happy for you," he placated Yuuri.  
  
Just then the door opened, and Cheri and the others came back with the child. Greta was with them, both quiet and excited.  
  
Cheri came closer to the bed and put him into Yuuri’s arms. He looked at the pink, fragile baby, Siegfried. Yuuri’s companions took places around the bed, and at Yuuri’s nod, Wolfram reached out to touch the baby’s hand, then guided Greta to do the same.  
  
"He has His Majesty’s black eyes, but his hair is brown…" Gunther marvelled.  
  
"I had brown hair too when I was born," Yuuri remarked.   
  
"If I hadn’t seen the birth, I could swear he was one of mine…" Cheri added. "He looks like Gwendal did."  
  
Everyone turned to look suspiciously at the dark-haired mazoku.  
  
"What’s his name?" Greta asked.  
  
"Siegfried Shouhei," Yuuri answered at his daughter, it felt perfect that she was the first to know.  
  
Then questions fused. "Is Shouhei a place?" "Is it a surname?"  
  
"No," Yuuri answered. "Those are his first and second names. I…" He blushed. "This child shall bear the name of my future husband."  
  
"Oh?" Cheri wondered aloud.  
  
"You have found someone willing to adopt your child?" Gwendal asked.  
  
"I would accept any child of His Majesty and marry him if he wanted," Gunther commented.  
  
Yuuri raised his head to look at Conrad. "Conrart ?"  
  
"Oh? I thought you couldn’t pronounce his name right," Cheri remarked happily.  
  
"I learned." Yuuri blushed.  
  
Conrad took Yuuri’s hand then. "I’m marrying Yuuri," he declared.  
  
Mayhem ensued.  
  
\----------  
  
A nurse had been called for the baby, and she was led in so that Siegfried could start to be breastfed. There was some worry when he did not immediately agree to drink from the foreign breast, but finally it went well.  
  
Over the following days, Yuuri rested and things began to settle. There was a presentation day, when the people could come and see their king’s newborn child. A bed had been arranged especially in the throne room, and Yuuri rested on it with Siegfried sleeping by his side while people came to see. There were guards by his side, but most importantly Conrart was there, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching over them both, sometimes bending over their child to kiss Yuuri.  
  
Their banns had been published together with the announcement of the birth.  
  
There were whispers amongst the crowd, between those who were in favour of the marriage and those against. "They look so good together," some said.  
  
"Humans are stupid, and Weller is no exception… really, accept someone else’s child as his… how much do you bet he’ll be cuckolded before the end of the year?" others said. "No way, His Majesty is not like that…"  
  
All in all, opinions were various.  
  
\----------  
  
A few weeks later, Yuuri was up and about again. His body had started to transform back and Gisela was still monitoring him. Even if Gwendal and Gunther did most of the administrative paperwork, Yuuri started his job as a Maou again, but spent most of his time near his son. Conrad had moved in to share his room…  
  
But something was weird, and he did not know what to do about it. The closer it came to the wedding, the guiltier he felt. He really had been happy when Conrad had returned and asked to marry him, but now he had second thoughts. Ever since he gave birth, sex did not attract him anymore, even the idea of it did not feel so good. He did not know how to breach the subject with Conrad.  
  
One afternoon, Conrad had just offered him a backrub, Yuuri decided to tell him. It would not be fair not to tell Conrad. Feeling Conrad’s hands working on his shoulders he began to speak, his head hidden in his arms. He could not look at Conrad and see his disappointed face.  
  
"Maybe marrying me is not such a good idea," he started.   
  
"Yuuri?" Conrad seemed surprised, then worried. "Why ?"  
  
Yuuri hid his head further. "I don’t feel like having sex anymore," he mumbled, embarrassed.  
  
Conrad smiled and sighed, and his hands started moving again on Yuuri’s back, gentle and strong, reassuring him.  
  
"It is not an argument for me, Yuuri," he explained. "The only reason why I would not want to marry you would be if you really did not want to marry me… but even if you don’t want a sexual relationship, I’m still willing to be your husband," he said. "Do you not want to marry me?"  
  
"No," Yuuri whimpered. He loved Conrad, but he felt so selfish. "I want to marry you."  
  
"Then don’t worry," Conrad concluded. "It will be all right."  
  
\----------  
  
Conrad kept by him, nearly always at his side. He had resumed his old habits, loving glances, small gentle touches… and they kissed. The night before the wedding, Yuuri voiced his concerns again but Conrad waved them away. "Don’t worry about what might come tomorrow," he said. "Just enjoy your wedding."  
  
The fest was great. A large number of people had been invited to the ceremony itself and a national holiday had been declared for the country. There had been dances and music, but Yuuri had not danced much with Conrad, preferring to return by Siegfried’s crib.   
  
  
"They do look good together," was the general comment of the day.  
  
Then they left Siegfried to his nurse’s care and retired for the night. Hand in hand they walked through the corridors and when they arrived in front of the king’s bedroom and opened the door, Conrad swept Yuuri up in his arms to carry him through the entrance.  
  
"Eh!" Yuuri was surprised.  
  
"Tripping would be a sign of bad luck, Your Majesty," Conrad explained good naturedly, fighting to keep his face serious.  
  
"Don’t call me that!" Yuuri protested as Conrad carried him over to the bed.  
  
"Your August Majesty, then?" Conrad asked impishly.  
  
"Conrad!" Conrad lowered Yuuri to sit on the bed.  
  
"Yes, Yuuri," he answered, following so they could kiss.   
  
They changed in their nightwear and went to bed, and Yuuri felt uneasy again.  
  
"Don’t worry Yuuri," Conrad told him. "I would rather die than hurt you in any way, and your every wish is my command…"  
  
"But we should…" Yuuri interrupted him.  
  
"Never mind what we should, Yuuri. This is just about us." Conrad gathered Yuuri in his arms, stroking his hair and back until they both fell asleep.  
  
\----------  
  
In the morning, Yuuri woke up in Conrad’s arms, well rested and comfortable. He could feel the man -- his husband now-- pressed against his side. He snuggled closer in the comfortable warmth… only to discover Conrad had a hard on. Instantly Yuuri felt guilty and he looked up at Conrad’s face. Conrad was awake.  
  
"Good morning, Yuuri," he whispered.  
  
"Good morning," Yuuri answered, somewhat ashamed.   
  
"Don’t worry, Yuuri," Conrad reminded him.  
  
"It’s not right," Yuuri countered.  
  
Conrad rearranged his arms around his king and husband and tenderly kissed him.   
  
Afterwards, in the privacy of each other‘s embrace he spoke gently. "Then let me tell you something, Yuuri. I’ll wait until you want me before I try anything… but there is no need for complete intercourse to share pleasure." He brought Yuuri’s hand up and began to kiss his fingers. "Besides… " he went on. " …You can keep in mind that, should you want another child, and if it’s in my power to do so, I would be more than willing to carry it for you."  
  
"Conrart!"  Yuuri whispered before he moved to kiss him again.  
  
  
THE END  
  
\----------  
  
Epilogue.   
  
Several years later, Siegfried had grown nicely. He now had two younger siblings, two Shibuyas… and Yuuri was pregnant again.  
  
From inside the castle, Conrad was watching Yuuri watch his three children play, a hand placed upon his growing belly. Then Siegfried came running to him to show him a flower, his brown hair wild in the wind of the run.  
  
"He really takes after his father," Murata remarked, joining Conrad on the balcony.  
  
"Your Holiness," Conrad greeted him before turning back to their first-born son, his eyes lingering on the youth’s chin and round dark eyes. "Yes, he does look like Yuuri."   
  
Murata’s glasses flashed in the sun. "I was talking about his other father," he grinned.  
  
Conrad just smiled, while Yuuri turned his head to look at him; Yuuri was happy.

 

(1) Shouhei : 正平 ~ true peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN : There. It's finished. After more than a year since I first got the idea.  
> I'd like to thank you all for your patience, and I'd like to especially thank slytherisa to have helped me until the end.
> 
> AN2 : You know what ? This is the 100th fiction chapter I posted about kyou kara maou !


End file.
